Ourém Castle

Ourém Castle, locally known as Castelo de Ourém, lies in the town of the same name in the Médio Tejo region in Portugal.

The castle is situated on top of a hill, overlooking the Seiça Stream. In Moorish times this hilltop was the site of a Muslim settlement, called Abdegas, centered around a spring and protected by a watchtower. It was conquered, in the course of the Reconquista, in 1136.

The Muslim fortification was completely rebuilt, and a triangular castle at Ourém was first mentioned in 1178. The town was granted its first charter in 1180.

In 1245 a conflict broke out between the Portuguese king; Sancho II and his brother Afonso, after the Pope had ordered the unpopular Sancho to be removed from his throne in favor of Afonso. Supporters of Afonso then kidnapped Sancho's wife; Mécia Lopes de Haro, in 1246 and held her in Ourém Castle. It was subsequently besieged by the sovereign's forces, but without success. Shortly after she retired to Castile, while Sancho abdicated in favor of Afonso, who would then become Afonso III of Portugal, and went into exile.

Given the fact that the town was sparsely populated it was donated in 1299, together with the castle, to a Martim Lourenço da Cerveira, with the stipulation to repopulate it.

In 1384, during the 1383-1385 Portuguese interregnum, Ourém Castle was taken by the forces of the Master of Aviz; the future John I of Portugal. 

The 4th Count of Ourém, Afonso of Braganza, erected a rectangular fortified palace just below the old castle, in the first half of the 15th century. The palace was equipped with a fortified entrance in front of it, guarded by 2 towers. The Paço dos Condes was connected to the old castle via a covered walkway and a round tower.

The entire complex was damaged as a result of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In 1810, during the Peninsular War, Ourém Castle was severely damaged when it was occupied by Napoleonic troops, after which it fell to ruin.

The castle was restored and in 2021 the former palace opened as a site for cultural and museological activities.

Ourém Castle can be visited for a fee. A beautiful castle and palace.

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