Portugal · 12th century
Tomar Castle is a national monument in the Santarém District of Portugal. Built on a hill above the town of Tomar and the river Nabão on land donated by King Afonso Henriques it was the Portuguese headquarters of the Knights Templar and the residence of their Grand Prior or Preceptor. It subsequently belonged to their successors in Portugal, the Order of Christ, and later became part of the Convento de Cristo, a catholic convent and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Text adapted from “Tomar Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castelo de Tomar ranks #2,279 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #24 of the 212 mapped in Portugal. Founded c. 1160, it is older than 79% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,249 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tomar, 1 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →