Aljezur Castle

Aljezur Castle, locally known as Castelo de Aljezur, lies in the village of the same name in the Algarve region in Portugal.

The castle dates back to at least the 11th century, when the area was ruled by the Muslim Almoravid dynasty. Although archaeological excavations showed that the site; a hill inside a sharp bend in the Aljezur River, was already used by Lusitanians, Romans, and Visigoths.

Their successors; the Almohad Caliphate, reconstructed the castle to better withstand attacks by Christian troops in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 1240s, Aljezur Castle was conquered by forces from the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, commanded by Don Paio Peres Correia. They then altered the castle to their needs and garrisoned it.

Ownership of Aljezur Castle was contested between the kings of Spain and Portugal, until 1267, when they signed the Treaty of Badajoz, after which it finally passed into Portuguese hands.

In the mid-15th century, the castle was already described as being in a ruinous state, before being abandoned altogether at the end of that century. The castle ruins were largely demolished during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The remains we see today are mainly the result from a partial reconstruction of the ruins in 1940-1941.

The castle has an elliptical ground plan with 2 towers. Inside its walls are only some foundations and an Almoravid cistern.

Aljezur Castle can freely be visited. Not a very spectacular castle, but I bet it has nice views if you don't visit it on a drizzly afternoon, like I did.

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