Visiting St.George’s Castle standing tall on the Lisbon skyline,viewable from most points in the city & offering best panoramic views of the Lisbon city

On the third day of our Lisbon trip we visited the majestic Saint George’s Castle & the museum. Found the architecture of the medieval castle very attractive with spectacular 360* views of the Lisbon city & the Tagus river.Wonderful experience!

CASTELO DE SAO JORGE :

Saint George’s Castle (Portuguese: Castelo de São Jorge is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the freguesia of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while the first fortifications built date from the 1st century BC. The hill on which Saint George’s Castle stands has played an important part in the history of Lisbon, having served as the location of fortifications occupied successively by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors, before its conquest by the Portuguese in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon. Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal palace, a military barracks, home of the Torre do Tombo National Archive, and now as a national monument and museum.

Saint George’s Castle can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Its oldest parts date from the 6th century, when it was fortified by the Romans, Visigoths, and eventually the Moors. It served as a royal Moorish residence, until Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques, captured it in 1147 with the help of northern European crusaders on their way to the Holy Land. It was later dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of England, commemorating the Anglo-Portuguese pact dating from 1371, and became the royal palace until another one (that was destroyed in the Great Earthquake) was built in today’s Comercio Square. It’s now an oasis of peace, but just past the main gate is a statue of King Afonso Henriques and a series of cannons, reminding you of its original purpose. What remains of the Alcaçovas Palace where medieval kings lived, is a stone building now housing a restaurant, and round the back, a small archaeological museum in three underground chambers (including the one where Vasco da Gama was received by King Manuel in 1499, after his voyage to India).

HISTORY:

Although the first fortifications on this hilltop date from the 1st century BC, archaealogical  excavations have identified a human presence in the Tagus valley as far back as the 8th century BC. The first fortification was, presumably, erected in 48 BC, when Lisbon was classified as a Roman municipality. The hill was first used by Celtic tribes, then by Phoenicians, followed by Greeks and later the Carthaginians as a defensive outpost that was later expropriated successively by the Romans, the Suebi, the Visigoths, and the Moors. During the 10th century, the fortifications were built by Berber forces; these included the walls or Cerca Moura (Moorish Encirclement .The hill on which St George’s Castle sits was inhabited as early as the 6th century BC, with the first fortifications dating back to the 2nd century BC. This hill was of military importance to a number of peoples, including Lisbon’s indigenous Celtic and Iberian tribes as well as the Romans, the Visigoths (5th century) and the Moors (mid-11th century). The earliest mentions of St George’s Castle date back to the 11th century, when Arab geographers mention it defending the ‘quasabah’ or ‘fortress’. In 1147, St George’s Castle was conquered from the Moors by Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques helped by crusaders as part of the Seige of Lisbon. In 1255, when Lisbon became the capital city, St George’s Castle served as the royal palace and was later renovated by King Dinis I. The castle was dedicated to Saint George ,patron Saint of England, by King João I in the 14th century, commemorating the 1371 Anglo-Portuguese pact. However, St George’s Castle began to lose its stature in the 16th century, when King Manuel I built the Ribeira Palace, particularly when St George’s Castle was damaged by earthquakes in 1531 and 1755 and never properly rebuilt. A major restoration project of the Castle took place in the 1940’s which completely rebuilt the ramparts, embellished the watchtowers and added gardens to the courtyards.

ARCHITECTURE: The castle is in the centre of Lisbon, on a hill, while many of its walls extend around the citadel into the civil parishes that surround it to the east and south.

The castle’s plan is roughly square, and it was originally encircled by a wall, to form a Citadel. The castle complex consists of the castle itself (the castelejo) , some ancillary buildings (including the ruins of the royal palace), gardens, and a large terraced square from which an impressive panorama of Lisbon is visible. The main entrance to the citadel is a 19th-century gate surmounted by the coat of Arms of Portugal, the name of Queen Maria II, and the date 1846. This gate permits access to the main square (Praça d’Armas), which is decorated with old cannons and a bronze statue of Afonso Henricks, the Portuguese monarch who took the castle from the Moors. This statue is a copy of the 19th-century original, by the romantic sculptor Antonio Soares Reis, which is located near Guimaraes Castle in northern Portugal. The remnants of the royal palace are located near the main square, but all that is left are some walls and a few rebuilt rooms such as the Casa Ogival. It now hosts the Olissipónia, a multimedia show about the history of Lisbon.

The medieval castle is located toward the northwest corner of the citadel, at its highest point. Hypothetically, during a siege, if attackers managed to enter the citadel, the castle was the last stronghold, the last place in which to take refuge. It is rectangular, with ten towers. A wall with a tower and a connecting door divides the castle courtyard into halves. A series of stairways allow visitors to reach the walkway atop the wall and the towers, from which magnificent views of Lisbon can be enjoyed. The Tower of Ulysses (where the Torre do Tombo archive used to be) had in 1998 a camera obscura installed that allows spectators a 360-degree view of the city and Tagus River. Apart from its main walls, the castle is protected, on its southern and eastern sides, by a barbican (barbacã), a low wall that prevented siege engines from approaching the main castle walls. The northern and western sides of the castle, on the other hand, were naturally protected by the steep hillside sloping downward from the castle’s foundations. The castle is also partially encircled by a moat, now dry. The main entrance is fronted by a stone bridge across the moat. On the west side, there is a long curtain wall extending downhill, ending at a tower (the Torre de São Lourenço).This tower guarded a gate in the Cerca Fernandina.

SAINT GEORGE CASTLE MUSEUM :

We visited the museum with great collection of artefacts of the medieval period enhancing our knowledge of the bygone times:

My dear readers may kindly point out any incorrect information in my above writeup needing any corrections! I am truly indebted to Wikipedia for the invaluable information on the subject ! Happy Reading !