Campo Maior Castle

Campo Maior Castle, locally known as Castelo de Campo Maior, lies in the town of the same name in the Alto Alentejo region in Portugal.

The first fortification on this low hill may have been built by the Moors. In the course of the Reconquista, the settlement was however first conquered by the forces of Alfonso IX of León in 1230. The settlement received its charter in 1250.

Around 1295 Campo Maior was conquered again, this time by Portuguese forces of Denis of Portugal, and it was definitively incorporated in the Portuguese kingdom in 1297. To repopulate the town and protect it from Castilian aggression, Denis ordered the reconstruction of Campo Maior Castle in 1310.

During the late 15th century, John II of Portugal, started to rebuilt and enlarge the castle, works that were completed by his successor; Manuel I of Portugal. Due to the Portuguese Restoration War in the mid-17th century, John IV of Portugal strengthened and modernized the castle adapting it to modern warfare, turning the medieval town and its castle into a strong fortress with bastions, bulwarks and ravelins.

Campo Maior was fruitlessly besieged for 36 days by Spanish forces in 1712, during the Spanish War of Succession. The siege caused severe damage. In 1732 a lightning strike during a nightly thunderstorm hit the fully stacked powder magazine in the castle. It exploded with such a force, followed by a widespread fire, that almost the entire castle was destroyed, as were parts of the town walls and almost half of the structures within the town. The powder magazine and the town's defenses were rebuilt in 1735, albeit on a smaller scale.

In 1801, during the War of the Oranges, the fortress of Campo Maior capitulated with military honors after an 18-day siege by the Spanish. It again had to capitulate with military honors in 1811, after a 13-day siege by French troops, during the Peninsular War. Later that century it lost its military importance.

The castle and the fortress walls were partially restored during the 20th century. The castle has a somewhat oblong plan with an inner and an outer castle. Originally, the castle had 6 towers, of which only 2 remain.

Campo Maior Castle can be visited for a fee, but only as a visitor of a museum; the 'Interpretive Center of the Fortification of Campo Maior'. Sadly enough, the museum had already closed when I came by. A nice castle in a quiet border town.

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