Fortificações e todo o conjunto intramuros da vila de Monsaraz - Monsaraz, Portugal
Posted by: 
tmob
N 38° 26.579 W 007° 22.818
29S E 641349 N 4256208
The fortifications of Monsaraz, were declared as a National Monument on January 2nd, 1946; the whole inside-walls set of the village were included in classification on November 22th, 1971
Waymark Code: WMDP69
Location: Évora, Portugal
Date Posted: 02/09/2012
Views: 12
Considered one of the oldest villages in Portugal, Monsaraz notes evidence of settlement from prehistoric times, being originally a fortified castro. Thereafter it was successively occupied by the period of formation of nationality, being conquered for the first time to the Moors in 1157.
Returning to the domain of Almohads after D. Afonso Henriques was defeated in Badajoz, the village would be conquered by King D. Sancho II in 1232, who donated it to the Order of the Temple.
However repopulation of , the christian Monsaraz, only happened in the reign of D. Afonso III, when the monarch granted the first charter, setting the limits of the county.
During the Wars of Restoration, due to the proximity of Monsaraz with the Guadiana River and the Spanish border, the Crown had built a new fort around the town using the system Franco-Dutch, or Vauban.
From the nineteenth century, when the county seat was moved to Reguengos de Monsaraz, the fort was abandoned, which led to some of its elements to enter into ruin. However the walled structure continues to dominate the urban landscape of the village of Monsaraz.
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