Beja Castle
| Beja Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Castle view with the keep Torre de Menagem |
||
| Alternative name (s): | (port.) Castelo de Beja | |
| Creation time : | 13./14. century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | preserved and restored | |
| Standing position : | High nobility | |
| Construction: | Stone, limestone | |
| Place: | Beja - Santiago Maior | |
| Geographical location | 38 ° 1 '1.8 " N , 7 ° 51' 54.5" W | |
|
||
The Castle of Beja ( Portuguese Castelo de Beja ) is a fortress in the center of the southern Portuguese city of Beja in the Alentejo region .
location
The castle complex is located in the center of the city of Beja in the Santiago Maior district less than 100 m from the cathedral at a height of approx. 300 m .
history
.jpg)
There was a fortified settlement in Beja as early as the Celtic-Roman times; after the peace treaty between Julius Caesar and the Lusitans in 48 BC. Chr. In Pax Julia was renamed; henceforth it belonged to the Roman province of Lusitania . The place remained an important economic and strategic center even under the Suebi , Visigoths and Moors . In 1159, King Alfonso I of Portugal recaptured the place from the hands of the Muslims (in the so-called Reconquista ), but left it only a few months later. In 1191 conquered the Almohad - Sultan and commander Almansor (actually Abu Yusuf Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur ) the area. Only in the 1230s did it revert to the Christians. The kings Alfons III. († 1279) and above all Dinis I († 1325) restored and enlarged the castle. Under the rule of Alfonso V from the House of Avis , the city was elevated to a duchy in 1453 . The castle remained inhabited until the 17th century; then the Jesuits set up a college here. In 2014 parts of the main tower fell down; Extensive restoration work took place up to 2016.
architecture
The entire fortress is surrounded by a vertically towering crenellated wall ring with several towers and gates; it also includes open spaces. At the highest point of the complex rises approximately 40 m high two-storey keep (Torre de Menagem) , the almost monolithic-looking basement of which has weir bay windows and windows of different shapes (including one with a horseshoe arch ). The more structured upper floor is mainly characterized by small corner protrusions. The ceiling of the upper floor is formed by a star vault with ornate keystones and central ribs in the Manueline style . The crenellated attachments serve more to decorate the building than to defend it.
literature
- Carlos Canelas: Beja, Portugal e as suas fortificações. Beja, Portugal, Arquivo de Beja 1967
Web links
- Beja Castle - Photos + Info (Portuguese)
