Portugal · 8th century
The Castle of Silves is a castle in the civil parish of Silves in the municipality of Silves in the Portuguese Algarve. It's believed that the first fortifications were built upon a possible Lusitanian castro, by the Romans or Visigoths. Between the 8th and 13th centuries, the castle was occupied by the Arabs who expanded it, making it one of the best preserved Arab fortifications in Portugal, resulting in its classification as a National Monument in 1910.
Text adapted from “Castle of Silves” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castle of Silves ranks #1,300 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #18 of the 212 mapped in Portugal. Founded c. 750, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 48 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,689 times in the last 60 days, more than 85% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
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