The medieval Castle of Almourol is located in Centre Region of Portugal, 4 kilometers from Vila Nova da Barquinha, the municipal capital, atop the islet of Almourol in the middle of the Tagus River. The castle served as a bastion during the Portuguese Reconquista and was a part of the defensive line under the administration of the Knights Templar. The base of the castle is thought to have been a rudimentary Lusitanian castro that the Romans eventually overran in the first century BCE. It is unclear when the current fortress was built, although it was later altered by other invaders, such as the Visigoths, Alans, and Arabs. Numerous artifacts from the Roman era, such as coins, millennium marks, and Roman foundations, were uncovered during excavations conducted in the interior and external enclosures. In the area of the castle, medieval artifacts, including two marble columns and medallions, were also found. One of the most famous examples of the medieval military architecture during Reconquista is the fortress of Almourol, which also serves as a prime illustration of the influence of the Templars in Portugal. It was known as Almorolan before it was taken over in 1129 by armies loyal to the Portuguese nobility. Gualdim Pais, the leader of the Portuguese branch, then took control of it and renovated the building. An inscription over the main gate states that the building was rebuilt beginning in 1171 and renovated throughout the reigns that followed. The castle lost its strategic location and was left to decay. It was reimagined in the 19th century by idealistic romanticists, which ultimately prompted interventions in the 1940s and 1950s and the conversion of the castle into the Official Residence of the Portuguese Republic
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[Image: A view of the castle from the small gully that divides the Tagus River islet of Almourol ; Wikipedia Image-Author : Daniel Feliciano] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property and Sharing, Remixing or Attributing the Work)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Almourol_034.jpg ] #Castles#History
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Monuments and Architecture
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