Castle of Celorico da Beira: A Historic Fortress in Portugal

Visitor Information

Google Rating: 4.3

Popularity: Medium

Google Maps: View on Google Maps

Official Website: www.cm-celoricodabeira.pt

Country: Portugal

Civilization: Unclassified

Remains: Military

History

The Castle of Celorico da Beira stands in the municipality of Celorico da Beira in Portugal. Its origins are uncertain but may trace to ancient peoples who first occupied its granite hilltop position. Tradition credits its founding to Brigo, said to be the fourth king of Hispania around 1091 BCE, while some scholars link its earliest settlement to the Turduli tribe around 500 BCE, naming the site Celióbriga. During the Roman period, the location served as a fortified outpost, supported by a Latin inscription discovered in the 17th century that mentioned Roman captains active during Emperor Augustus’s reign.

In the medieval era, the castle came under Muslim control during the period of the Christian Reconquista but was later captured by the forces of King Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first monarch, in the 12th century. Following its conquest by Dom Moninho Dola, the king awarded a charter to promote settlement and assigned the Knights Templar to rebuild and fortify the structure. During the 1140 Muslim counteroffensive, the castle was briefly taken but soon restored under Portuguese command, joining a defensive line along the Beira border that included nearby fortresses such as Trancoso and Linhares da Beira.

The castle’s strategic importance continued into the 13th century when it was besieged in 1198 by troops from King Alfonso IX of León amid clashes with King Sancho I of Portugal. Relief came through soldiers from nearby Linhares, sent by Rodrigo Mendes. Successive monarchs confirmed and reinforced the site’s military role: King Afonso II ratified its town charter in 1217, while King Sancho II expanded the castle’s defenses during his reign. The loyalty of its commanders was tested during this time; Fernão Rodrigues Pacheco, the castle’s Alcaide (governor), withstood an assault by the Count of Bolonha’s forces in 1246. Later, the castle faced attacks again during the 1383–1385 succession crisis when Castilian armies launched incursions into Portuguese territory.

Between the 14th and early 16th centuries, the castle saw successive upgrades. Kings Denis and Ferdinand made significant improvements in the 1300s, while King Manuel I granted a new town charter in 1512 and likely commissioned a covered passage linking the fortress to a nearby well known as the Poço d’El Rei. The structure was adapted further during the 17th century Restoration War between Portugal and Spain, including the addition of artillery bastions. Ownership passed to noble families, notably to Dom Diogo da Silva, the first Count of Portalegre, under King Manuel’s donation, and later to the Marquis of Gouveia’s lineage before reverting to the Crown.

The castle saw military action again in 1762 when Spanish forces attacked under the defense of Alcaide Manuel Caetano Lopes de Lavre. During the Peninsular War in the early 1800s, it served as barracks for Portuguese and British troops, housing a field hospital in the nearby Church of Santa Maria. In the 19th century, urban growth led to the removal of much of the town’s defensive walls and parts of the castle itself, including the original keep tower and a notable passageway, whose stones were repurposed for paving.

Declared a National Monument in 1910, the castle underwent restoration and conservation efforts during the 20th century by Portuguese heritage agencies, preserving its essential features and stabilizing the surviving structures.

Remains

The castle occupies an irregular oval-shaped area atop a granite hill, blending Romanesque and Gothic architectural influences that emerged during various construction phases. The walls, built predominantly from the local granite, form a robust enclosure that once protected the elevated settlement and its inhabitants. Despite lacking battlements along the curtain walls, a raised wall walkway known as the adarve remains, with stairs providing access. Two principal gates penetrate the walls: the main southern entrance and the western Porta da Traição, or Traitor’s Gate. Both gates feature pointed arches, characteristic of Gothic design, covered by broken barrel vaults and still retain their original stone hinge elements, linking the castle interior with the historic town beyond.

Along the exterior of the western wall stand two buttressed towers, known locally as cubelos, displaying irregular quadrangular and trapezoidal shapes. These towers, also constructed of granite, lack battlements but contribute to the fortress’s defensive capabilities. Inside the walls, near the southeastern corner, stands the current keep tower—a three-story, square building topped with a crenellated roof lowered on all four sides and adorned with gargoyle carvings. Its main entrance faces south and is located on the second floor, reached by external access; the doorway is designed with a straightforward arch topped by a pointed relief arch. The keep’s interior floors and stairs are made of wood, consistent with the latest restorations.

Scholars debate whether this keep tower is original or a replacement for an earlier central tower, which some evidence suggests once stood over the main courtyard’s cistern and was demolished in the 19th century. This cistern itself remains part of the site, continuing to attest to the castle’s historical water management. Additional historic infrastructure includes a now-lost aqueduct connected by what was likely a vaulted passageway to the Poço d’El Rei, a royal well situated outside the main enclosure.

Positioned 550 meters above sea level, the castle commands broad views across the surrounding landscape, including other medieval fortresses such as those at Linhares da Beira, Guarda, and Trancoso, along with natural landmarks like the Serra da Estrela mountains and the Côa River valley. While the town’s original defensive walls have disappeared except for the Clock Tower, the castle’s walled enclosure remains intact, reinforced by its western turrets and featuring the preserved battlemented wall walk. These surviving structures offer a clear window into the castle’s layered defensive and residential past.