Castelo de Castelo de Vide - Castelo de Vide, Portugal
Posted by: 
tmob
N 39° 25.053 W 007° 27.468
29S E 632756 N 4364248
The Castle of Castelo de Vide was declared as a National Monument in 1910
Waymark Code: WMDMAW
Location: Portalegre, Portugal
Date Posted: 01/30/2012
Views: 6
At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, some unproven evidences point to a supposed conquest by D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185) in 1148, as well as the granting of a charter in 1180. It is known with more certainty that the settlement was in the domain of the kingdom of Portugal in 1232, taking on importance and having municipal organization as early as 1276.
Under the reign of D. Fernando (1367-1383), the village, the castle and its domains were given to the Order of Avis, by exchange with Castro Marim (1383). With the death of this sovereign, and open the crisis of 1383-1385, the town initially declared its support for the heir D. Beatriz, passing, when the siege of Lisbon (1384), to support the party of the Master of Avis.
Under the regency of D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, during the minority of D. Afonso V (1438-1481), the defenses were strengthened in the Alentejo castles, among which was included the Castelo de Vide.
A new architectural phase took place in the late seventeenth century, in the context of the War of Restoration of Portuguese independence, when it were introduced upgrades for adapting it to modern artillery.
Later, the town was surrounded and captured during the War of Spanish Succession (1704), occupied without resistance during the so-called War of the Oranges (1801), and French troops under the command of Andre Massena, during the Peninsular War. (1811). The destruction suffered since then has led to its deactivation from 1823, when it emphasized the process of degradation.
It was declared as a National Monument on June 23, 1910.
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