Castles in Northern Portugal
Portugal has a vast and magnificent heritage of medieval fortresses and castles, stern and military or royal and opulent, some in ruins and many very well-preserved. Guimaraes Castle, located in the city of Guimaraes, was built in the 10th century under commission of Dona Mumadona Dias to defend the monastery against Muslim and Norman attacks. In the first half of the 12th century, it became a royal residence and later a political prison.
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The Guimaraes castle is high and slender, one of the most complete and well-preserved medieval strongholds of Portugal, as well as a national shrine for being the birthplace of King Afonso Henriques. The massive curtain walls with sharp and gabled crennels encompass an oval courtyard with a tall and massive keep. The eight towers of the fortress afford magnificent views.
In 1910, this Castle was declared a national monument. In 1937, the General Service for National Buildings and Monuments started its great restoration, which concluded with the inauguration of the castle's present symbolic status on 4 June 1940.
Braganca castle in the town of Braganca is a 13th century Portuguese fortress. The extremely well-preserved citadel, called Domus Municipalis, is a grand example of Romanesque military architecture, with impressive towers and dungeons. The council chambers of the citadel have a rare pentagonal layout. The keep of the castle houses a military museum and provides splendid views from the top. Also remarkable is the Santa Maria church of the citadel, with an elaborately carved granite portal and 18th century painted barre vault.
Montalegre castle is situated atop a hill in the quiet and traditional town of Montalegre. The castle is austere and imposing, with its massive square towers seemingly growing like a cliff from the barren terrain. Montalegre is also the site of a fascinating complex of Celtic ruins.
A variation from the row of stern medieval strongholds, Dona Chica is a neo-romantic castle in Palmeira, Braga, Portugal. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century.
The building is a blend of Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance decorative elements. The ground floor is a Renaissance socle with a circular portal cut into the wall and a small round terrace to the east, spanned by Gothic arches and buttresses. A Renaissance archway gallery opens into the first floor, wile the second features pointed arches and Gothic window profiles.
The castle, or maybe the grand mansion inspires luxury rather than strength, with its many balconies and loggias, but the military touch is given by the Romanesque octagonal watchtower dominating the structure.
