Portugal · 13th century
Castelo de Castelo Mendo is a castle in Almeida, Portugal. The castle stands at an altitude of 762 meters above the Côa River, and has been classified as a National Monument since 1946.
The internal structures of the castle date back to the prehistoric Castro culture, and was further developed under the reign of Sancho I of Portugal. In 1229, Sancho II of Portugal granted the settlement a Charter, notably creating a free street market which helped develop the village economically, and likely establishing a stronghold at this time due to its strategic position in defending the Riba-Côa border. A second wall was built during the reign of Denis of Portugal, though due to the Alcanizes Treaty which reestablished the borders, the site soon lost its strategic potential.
Text adapted from “Castle of Castelo Mendo” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castle of Castelo Mendo ranks #6,296 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #109 of the 212 mapped in Portugal. Founded c. 1229, it is older than 72% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 1090 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Viseu, 82 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
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