Castle of Alter Pedroso

The Castle of Alter do Chão (Portuguese: Castelo de Alter do Chão) is a Portuguese medieval castle in civil parish of Alter do Chão, in the municipality of Alter do Chão, in the district of Portalegre.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries the castle was a fortified settlement. Part of the vast territory of Muslim settlement, following the 13th century it was conquered by Christian forces.

From bibliographic references, in 1211, the fortifications were part of the domains of the military Order of São Bento of Aviz.

By 1216, from the writings of João de Almeida (1945/1948), King D. Afonso II issued a foral (charter) to D. Fernando Anes, but on 30 June 1249, his successor (Afonso III) re-issued the donation to the Order of Aviz.

Between 1279 and 1325, Rui de Pina noted that King D. D. Dinis did not intervene or refer to the settlement/fortification at Alter Pedroso. During this time a small hermitage was constructed to the dedication of São Bento (St. Benedict). Between 1350 and 1450, there was no fortification/castle.

During the events of the Portuguese Restoration War, in 1662, John of Austria raised the site.

In 1886, the cemetery located in the vicinity was constructed.

In 1940, with the construction of the municipal motorway, the southwest line of walls was destroyed and the material used in the construction. A geodesic marker was also constructed in the area, along with a lookout, followed by a reservoir by the municipal authority.

On 1 June 1992, the property came under the responsibility of the Instituto Português do Património Arquitetónico (Portuguese Institute of Architectural Patrimony), by decree 106F/92 (Diário da República, Série 1A, 126).

The castle is situated on an isolated, rural hilltop 413 metres (1,355 ft) above sea level, bounded by rocky cliffs and linked by hedgerows that connect to Rua do Castelo in the village of Alter Pedroso.

The remains of the walls and corbels are distributed in an elliptical area, whose major segment, 86 metres (282 ft), is oriented to the north, while a minor segment of 50 metres (160 ft) to the south.

Text adapted from “Castle of Alter Pedroso” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle of Alter Pedroso ranks #7,060 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #187 of the 200 mapped in Portugal. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Évora, 73 km away. It is one of the 48 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Alentejo. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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