Castelo de Vide Castle

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

When the settlement and castle of Castelo de Vide were founded is unknown, but they were first being mentioned in 1232, when it was in Portuguese hands. Afonso III of Portugal donated the town and castle, together with the towns and castles of Arronches, Marvão and Portalegre, to one of his infant sons; also named Afonso, around 1272.

After Afonso III died in 1279, his other son, Denis, became King of Portugal. Denis' brother Afonso, however, opposed his brother's place on the throne. Afonso then started to wall the village. This led Denis to lay siege to Castelo de Vide in 1281. Afonso then ended up being forced to demolish his new walls and fleeing to Castile. There he married into the Castilian royal nobility. Denis recognized the danger of losing the border territories of Afonso to Castile. Therefore, he had Afonso exchange the rights to Marvão and Portalegre for those of Ourém and Sintra, which were situated much further to the west. Castelo de Vide was finally inherited by Afonso's children in 1312.

The castle and its domains were donated to the Military Order of Aviz in 1383 by Ferdinand I of Portugal. It was reinforced in the 1440s, as were other castles in the Alentejo region.

During the Portuguese Restoration War, in the mid-17th century, the town and castle were adapted to the use of artillery. Also, a new fortification was added to the southern end of the town's fortifications; Fort de São Roque, a small star fort. Still, it was conquered during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704, with the keep being partially destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in 1705. It was occupied without resistance during the War of the Oranges in 1801 and taken by French troops during the Peninsular War in 1811.

The destruction caused during the last two wars caused the decommissioning of the fortifications of Castelo de Vide in 1823, after which it fell into degradation.

The castle now consists of an inner castle with the mighty square keep and the outer castle, which holds a small, quiet neighborhood.

Castelo de Vide Castle can freely be visited. The inner castle is now a museum, which was closed when I visited. So I was not able to see the interior of the keep. Sadly enough, I only learned of the existence of the Fort de São Roque after my visit. So I will have to return another day to this very nice castle.

The great Marvão Castle can be seen to the south on clear days.

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