Tomar Castle

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

In the first half of the 12th century, the Knights Templar started recruiting in the Iberian Peninsula. They were then first granted the castle of Soure (1128), and then the castle of Longrovia (1145). Soure Castle was taken and destroyed during a Muslim offensive in 1144. The Templars then assisted in the taking of Santarém Castle in 1147. For this, they were later granted the ruined castle of Ceras in 1159, with the aim to rebuild it and repopulate the surrounding area.

The Master of the Knights Templar in Portugal at that time; Gualdim Pais, then decided not to rebuild Ceras, but to erect a completely new castle on a more strategic site, some 15 kilometers south of Ceras. Construction of Tomar Castle started in March 1160 on a hill on the right bank of the Nabão River, near the site of the old Roman town of Sellium.

Tomar Castle was then built with an irregular polygonal ground plan. It had an inner castle with a keep, and outer walls which delimited the primitive intramural town and the parade ground. The Templars incorporated a couple of defensive elements that were here introduced in Portugal for the first time. These were the keep in the inner castle and the battered base of the outer walls, called a talus.

The castle then became the Portuguese Templar headquarters. It also became part of the Tagus Line; a defensive line, formed by several castles along the river, amongst which the castles of Abrantes, Almourol, Belver and Torres Novas, to withstand attacks from the Almohad Caliphate.

In 1190 the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur launched an offensive, countering the Reconquista. He first retook the Algarve region and then quickly advanced north, eventually even crossing the Tagus Line, besieging Santarém and taking the castles of Abrantes and Torres Novas. The Almohads then besieged Tomar Castle for 6 days, but were unable to capture it, even though they managed to force one of the gates in the outer wall. Heavy Templar resistance opposed them, which led to that gate later being renamed, the 'Blood Gate'.

During the next century an oratory and a round church in the northwest corner of the castle, which had been an integral part of its defenses, grew to become a Catholic convent; the Convent of Christ.

After the Knights Templars were abolished in 1312, the castle fell to the Portuguese Crown. King Denis of Portugal then donated Tomar to the newly founded Military Order of Christ in 1319, who later made it their headquarters. Restorations and reinforcements of the castle and expansion of the convent in later centuries forced the intramural population to move to the town, next to the river.

After the 16th century, the castle slowly disappears from historical records, probably falling into dilapidation because it had lost it strategic importance. The convent kept its function until the 19th century and was used as a military hospital during the 20th century.

Tomar Castle can freely be visited during daytime. The inner castle with the keep however is not accessible. The Convent of Christ, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, can be visited for a fee. Both the castle and the convent are certainly worth a visit. Too bad that the inner castle is not accessible.

Gallery