Montemor-o-Novo Castle

Montemor-o-Novo Castle, locally known as Castelo de Montemar-o-Novo, lies in the town of the same name in the Alentejo Central region in Portugal.

Probably the first to fortify the southern prong of this 3-pronged hill were the Romans. Their fortification was maybe either destroyed or rebuilt by the Almohads in the 12th century. Under Islamic rule, there was already a fortified village on the northern and eastern prongs of the hill. In the course of the Reconquista the settlement was taken by Sancho I of Portugal, who granted it a charter in 1203, aiming to repopulate and defend it. That was when construction of the medieval castle began.

In 1310, during the reign of Denis of Portugal, extensive works began to strengthen the castle and construct new town walls, so that all 3 prongs of the hill were protected. These building works were finally completed in 1365.

Rebuilding and strengthening again took place during the 15th and 16th century, as Montemor-o-Novo had become a prosperous center of regional trade. In 1495 Montemor-o-Novo Castle was even the venue of the Cortes of 1495 (a state assembly) during which apparently Manuel I of Portugal decided to send out the explorer Vasco da Gama to discover a sea route to India.

During the 17th century, the defenses of castle and town were strengthened due to the threats of the Portuguese Restoration War. Later, in the first half of the 18th century, the town, and castle's importance diminished, and it fell into decline. This was even worsened by the severe damages caused by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. These were repaired later that century.

In the early 19th century, during the Peninsular War, the local garrison of the old castle resisted passing Napoleonic troops. Later that century the village slowly moved out from within the medieval walls, down into the valley to the north and the castle and town walls fell to ruin.

By the 20th century several still standing parts of the castle and town walls started to collapse, so from the 1930s on consolidation and restoration works were carried out, as well as archaeological excavations. At present, the castle ruin and the site of the former village are a public park.

Montemar-o-Novo Castle can freely be visited. It is in a pleasant public park with lots to see. The castle ruins are nice too, but a bit difficult to interpret.

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