Silves Castle
| Silves Castle | ||
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.jpg) Upper town of Silves with castle and ex-cathedral |
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| Alternative name (s): | (port.) Castelo de Silves | |
| Creation time : | 12./13. century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Partly preserved and restored | |
| Standing position : | Royal castle | |
| Construction: | red sandstone | |
| Place: | Silves | |
| Geographical location | 37 ° 11 '28 " N , 8 ° 26' 16" W | |
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The castle of Silves is a medieval fortress from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century in the city of Silves in the Algarve in southern Portugal .
location
The hilltop castle is located directly next to the former cathedral on an approx. 35 m high hill above the Rio Arade .
history
- background
Phoenician seafarers have probably already penetrated to the present-day town of Silves (formerly Cilpes ), but the first archaeological findings only date from the Roman , Late Antique and Visigoth times. Shortly after the year 711, the Algarve (= "the West") was conquered by the Muslim - Berber troops; they called the main place as-Shilb or Xelb . After the final collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba (1031), Silves became an independent small empire ( taifa ) . The Berber Almoravids took power in the south of the Iberian Peninsula from 1091 . When their dominance was coming to an end, after several previous attempts, a Christian crusader army recaptured the city in 1189, but only two years later the Berber Almohads from what is now Morocco destroyed the success again; they could establish themselves until 1230.
- Castle
Shortly after the first conquest of Silves, King Sancho I (r. 1185–1211) began building a castle; a diocese was also set up. Whether he was able to fall back on ancient or Moorish predecessor buildings when building the castle is probable based on its traditional name (Castelo dos Mouros) , but ultimately not proven. After the final reconquest ( reconquista ) in the years after 1242, the castle and town came under the control of the Order of Santiago for a time , but from 1248 the Portuguese King Afonso III took over . (ruled 1248–1279) power; he pushed ahead with the construction of the castle. In the 14./15. In the 19th century, the river silted up more and more and the castle and town began to decline, which were also badly damaged by the Lisbon earthquake (1755).
architecture
The castle, built on a hilltop from the reddish sandstone of the region and with an irregular rectangle in its plan, consists of a crenellated wall ring with several half-high towers, but only one gate, in front of which a bronze statue of King Sancho I stands. There were extensive undeveloped areas within the wall, but also numerous buildings. Particularly noteworthy are some of the outer fortresses (torres) as well as the arched cisterns (aljibes) up to 60 m deep , which also supplied parts of the city with water.
Web links
- Silves Castle, history and architecture - photos + information
- Silves Castle - Photos + Info (monument, Portuguese)