Castle of Penamacor

The Castle of Penamacor (Portuguese: Castelo de Penamacor) is a medieval castle located in the civil parish of Penamacor, in the municipality of Penamacor, Portuguese district of Castelo Branco.

The origins of the castle date to reign of King D. Sancho I, around 1189. At that time, the castle was settled and donated to D. Gualdim Pais, Master of the Order of the Temple (Knights Templar), resulting in the establishment of a fortification on a pre-existing castro. Its construction dates from this period (or following the donation) when the fortification's courtyard was begun, similar to other Templar donations, the site had a military significance associated with a period of colonization or defense. Contemporary excavations in the Cimo da Vila area have still not affirmatively indicated its period of occupation. It was A foral (charter) was conceded to Penamacor in 1199 by King D. Sancho I, which was ratified in 1209, following the similar model of Ávila/Évora. It was likely during this period that the castle was ordered built by D. Sancho I.

The second line walls, the keep tower and urban circus was also expanded in 1300 during the reign of King D. Denis. Little remains of the early medieval castle, and those remnants that do date to the period of the early Middle Ages, during the monarchy of King D. Dinis, when the walls and significant keep tower were constructed. Meanwhile, the barbican and other elements date from the reigns of King D. Ferdinand I and King D. John I, between the late 13th century and early 14th century. In 1379, the couto was instituted.

In the 15th century, King D. Afonso V created the countship of Penamacor, bestowing it on D. Lopo de Albuquerque.

The 1496 Inquirição (Inquiries) refers to the existence of 389 inhabitant on the site.

The principal element was the 16th century keep tower, erroneously identified as a Torre de Vigia (lookout tower) by Landeiro (1982) and systematically characterized by other authors. Constructed in the reign of King D. Manuel, the rectangular structure included an elevated entrance over the ground with staircase. It was uniformly crowned by balcony with machicolations, a military solution which was relatively rare in Portugal, influenced by interventions in this century, and designed by local master mason João de Ortega, who added two circular corbels.

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

Castle of Penamacor ranks #6,141 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #117 of the 205 mapped in Portugal. Founded 1199, it is older than 79% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 563 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Viseu, 84 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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