Castle of Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta

The Castle of Freixo de Espada à Cinta (Portuguese: Castelo de Freixo de Espada à Cinta) is located in the civil parish of Freixo de Espada à Cinta e Mazouco, municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, in the Portuguese district of Bragança.

The castle of Freixo de Espada à Cinta is one of the oldest Transmontanan fortresses, being documented since the 12th century, as a course several created by D. Afonso III and D. Dinis.

In 1152, D. Afonso Henriques first ceded a foral (charter) to Freixo, referring it as the settlement of "Fresno". It is presumed that the construction of the fortress occurred following this regal letter, but there are only references to work completed in 1258. From this date, it is probable that in the 12th century, a primitive redoubt, eventually with a wall to defend the settlement, which was eventually occupied by Leonese forces between 1212 and 1213.

Between 1212 and 1213 it was occupied by forces loyal to the kingdom of León. But, King D. Sancho II of Portugal donated Alva and its town to the municipality of Freixo in 1236, ordering the expulsion from the locality of all those inhabitants that lived there during the Leonese occupation. A foral was re-conferred in 1246, by his successor, King D. Afonso II to formalize the move of the town.

The 1258 Inquirições (inquiries) it was established that King D. Sancho II had donated the settlement of Alva to Freixo, and that the Church of São Miguel was obliged to pay two parts of its rent to the municipality for public works at the castle. The same king conceded the fortifications of Urrós, which was located in the wilderness, for fear that it could be occupied by the neighboring kingdom.

In the 13th century, following the foral signed by D. Afonso III, dated 1273, the castle was the object of an extensive campaign of public works. Little is understood as to the extent of the work realized, due to the destruction of the group, especially the work done during the reign of King Dinis (who resettled and ordered the construction of the castle). A new foral was conceded by King D. Afonso III.

During the 14th century, in the words of Rui de Pina, King D. Dinis "populated anew" the castle in Freixo. In 1342, the Freixonitas made a request to the King to apply a "terça" of the parochial church for public works on the castle.

Text adapted from “Castle of Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle of Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta ranks #6,876 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #158 of the 205 mapped in Portugal. Founded 1258, it is older than 69% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 861 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Vila Real, 82 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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