The Castle of Leiria ( pt, Castelo de Leiria) is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes,

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

district of Leiria The District of Leiria ( pt, Distrito de Leiria ) is a district located in Centro region of Portugal, divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, on the east with ...

History

The castle of Leiria was built by

D. Afonso Henriques Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

for the purpose of creating a line of defense against the Arabs. In 1142 he reinforced the defense of the castle after regaining

. D. Sancho I ordered erection of the walls of the castle in 1195. In 1324 D. Dinis ordered construction of the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

(Tower of Menagem) which was completed only during the reign of D. Afonso IV. In the early 16th century D. Manuel ordered a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

to be built between the main chapel and the bell tower. Throughout the centuries the castle gradually lost its military value. It was badly damaged during the French invasion. At the end of the 19th century restoration of the castle started in 1915 by the initiative of Liga dos Amigos do Castelo. The restoration project was directed by

Ernesto Korrodi Ernesto Korrodi (Zürich, 31 January 1870 – Leiria, 3 February 1944), was a Switzerland, Swiss-born architect who moved to Portugal aged 19, spending the remainder of his life there. He later adopted Portuguese citizenship, and married a P ...

between 1921 and 1933, and then by Baltazar de Vastro. The castle hosted important events as the meetings of the first courts called by D. Afonso III; became the residence of D. Denis and Queen Elizabeth; transformed into a meeting venue for the new court in the reign of D. Ferdinand I and the marriage of D. João I's son D. Afonso was celebrated in this castle as well. It has been listed as a

National monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

since 1910. The castle was damaged by the 1969 earthquake.

Architecture

The present configuration of the castle of Leiria was influenced by the 4 major construction periods: the 12th century's Romanesque, the 14th century's

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Dionysus, the early 15th century's

Johannine and the restoration trends of late 19th and early 20th century. The shape of the castle is irregular

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

al with solid walls and towers. Paços Reais (Royal Palace), the Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena, Menagem Tower, the former Collegiate space, and medieval barns are located inside the complex. The castle has 4 floors; the lower two floors are hardly seen from outside and are intended for domestic services. There is a large

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

with eight

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es of twin

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. The

has the panorama over the city and was used as a place for leisure and socializing. The loggia is accessed through a room called Royal Hall or Noble Hall which has a total area of 130 square meters used for receptions by monarchs.

Stonemasonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

were used in the construction.

Gallery

File:LeiriaCastle.JPG, Castle of Leiria File:Leiria-Château-Galeria-19670802.jpg, Gothic arcade (restored) of the Palace of D. João I File:Palacios Nuevos. Logia.jpg, Loggia File:1 Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Pena Castelo de Leiria IMG 8996.JPG, Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena File:LeiriaCastle2.jpg File:Torre dos sinos.jpg, Bell tower

References

External links

Leiria Castle
(Municipality of Leiria) {{Castles in Portugal

Buildings and structures in Leiria National monuments in Leiria District

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links