Santarém Castle

Santarém Castle, locally known as Castelo de Santarém, lies in the city of the same name in the Lezíria do Tejo region in Portugal.

The first fortification at this site, a hill on the right bank of the Tagus River, was most probably a prehistoric hillfort dating back to the 8th century B.C.. It was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 138 B.C.. In 529 A.D. it was taken by the Suebi, followed by the Visigoths in the 7th century.

At the beginning of the 8th century, it was taken by Muslim forces. By 1147, during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, the castle and town were part of the Muslim Taifa of Badajoz. On March 15, that year, Santarém Castle was conquered by Christian forces led by Afonso I of Portugal. His knights scaled the walls with ladders during the night, after which they opened the gates for their main army. A bloody fight with the inhabitants broke out, who were then all slaughtered.

The Almohads tried to retake the town and castle, first in 1171, then in 1181 and finally with a 4-month-long siege in 1184. All these attempts failed and Santarém stayed firmly in Christian hands. Together with other castles, it was part of the defensive Tagus Line.

It was apparently an important center of administration for the Portuguese court during the Late Middle Ages. King Denis of Portugal lived his final year in the castle and died there in 1325. During the 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum, it was garrisoned with Castilian troops by John I of Castile. It returned into Portuguese hands directly after the Castilians lost the Battle of Aljubarrota.

Starting in the 1490s, Santarém Castle started to lose its importance for the kingdom. It was severely damaged during the 1531 Lisbon earthquake. Because of its strategic location, the castle was again modernized and strengthened during the Restoration War in the mid-17th century and even during the Liberal Wars in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. After 1868 it finally lost all military importance.

What remains today are mainly the outer walls of the inner castle, following the outline of the hill and one gate; the Porta do Sol. The remains were restored from the 1990s on. There are no remains of medieval structures inside it. Originally the inner castle would have been connected to city walls, but they have disappeared. The site of the inner castle is now a public park.

Santarém Castle can freely be visited during daylight hours. The castle remains are heavily restored and may be difficult to admire from inside, but it is a nice park and the views out over the Tagus are fantastic.

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