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Almourol Castle

Almourol Castle

Photo: Daniel Feliciano · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Almourol, Portugal
Client / Owner
Gualdim Pais
Year
Completed 1171
Access
Public
Typology
Cultural
Style
—

Almourol Castle stands on an islet in the Tagus River in Portugal, on a granite outcrop about 59 feet (18 m) high that measures roughly 1,017 by 246 feet (310 by 75 m). After the conquest of 1129, Gualdim Pais, the Templar master in Portugal, rebuilt the structure, and an inscription over the main gate dates the reconstruction to 1171. The article names no architect.

The plan is an irregular rectangle with two enclosures, a lower outer one and a higher inner one. Nine tall circular towers reinforce the outer walls, and a three-story keep is the central feature. Restorations in the 1940s and 1950s added crenellations and bartizans that changed its appearance.

It is a National Monument of Portugal. The islet is free to enter, but visitors must pay for the boat ride, the only way to reach it.

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