Castle of Alvor

The Castle of Alvor is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Alvor, in the Portuguese district of Faro: considered to be a significant military monument associated with the nearby Castle of Silves.

The establishment of the first fortress was constructed in the 7th century B.C.E., from the remains of Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian remnants that were built on a Lusitanian castro settlement. The Carthaginian fort was conquered by Hannibal in 436, who renamed the fortification Portus Annibalis, which would later be re-christened Barcínia. From excavations completed by Teresa Gamito, the author determined that Alvor was an ancient populational and commercial centre during the pre-Roman colonization. Roman conquest did not alter significantly Alvor's role. The Moors conquered Alvor in 716, but the settlement retained its important political and commercial role that it acquired during the earlier cultures.

In 1189, a force of the Third Crusade, travelling from northern Europe, sacked Alvor and massacred its inhabitants. The region was retaken in 1191 by the Almohads. In 1249, King Afonso III captured Alvor definitively. In order to maintain their conquest, King Denis ordered the reconstruction of the castle in 1300.

Successively, Alvor was elevated to the status of town by King John II on 29 February 1495, which later allowed its deannexation from the municipality of Silves (on 28 December 1498). Within ten years, on 13 December 1505, King Manuel issued a foral (charter) to the parish of Alvor.

The apparent simplicity of the structure that survived to this day contrasts with the importance of the location during the Middle Ages. Current thinking suggests that the actual Castle of Alvor corresponded to the primitive square, that sheltered a garrison. Outside this redoubt circled the primitive settlement, which was itself circled by walls (which have not survived). At the time of the first conquest of Silves (in 1189), Alvor was referred to as a dependent town, suffering from Christian incursions (including deaths and considerable destruction to the settlement).

Within the Christian sphere, Alvor became one of the principal localities of the Algarve. Yet, the few notices survive to this day of the military preparedness of the castle or its garrison.

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

Castle of Alvor ranks #6,204 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #134 of the 200 mapped in Portugal. Founded c. 650 BC, it is older than 100% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 5 atlas entries founded in the 7th century BC. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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