"The castle of Lindoso is in the parish of Lindoso, municipality of Ponte da Barca, district of Viana do Castelo , Portugal.
Overlooking the lands of Spain , in a dominant position in the Sierra Amarela, on the left side of the river Limia , this castle was built at the root in the Middle Ages , with the function of guarding, defending and framing the border. Although it is not linked to major battles or episodes in military history, it is considered one of the most important Portuguese military monuments for the technical and architectural innovations used at that time in the country. It has both Romanesque and Gothic elements.
History
Some authors claim that the place name Lindoso derives from the Latin "Limitosum" (limiter, border, extreme). Although information does not exist on the primitive human occupation of its site, that place-name is not named in the Inquiriçoes of 1220 , which on the contrary happens in those of 1258. For that reason it is understood that it was raised by root in the reign of D. Alfonso III , inscribed in the effort to strengthen the defensive system of borders, undertaken by that sovereign.
Among the obligations of the inhabitants of the population included those of supplying the mayor with food on certain circumstances; in this way he had forbidden to practice any abuse against those same inhabitants.
The castle was reinforced and enlarged in the reign of Dinís I of Portugal, from 1278 .
The War of the Restoration of Independence
At the time of the Restoration of Portuguese independence, it regained importance due to its border location. For this reason in the context of the Portuguese invasions in Galicia by the military forces of the General of the Arms of Entre-Douro-e-Miño, D. Gastao Coutinho , the castle of Lindoso was used as a base of support for the invasions of the troops that were under the command of Vasco de Azevedo Coutiño and Manuel de Sousa de Abreu (September 1641). With the development of the War of the Restoration it received works of modernization that finished in 1666 (date inscribed in the lintel of one of the doors), hardly three years after falling in the hands of the Spanish troops, reconquered immediately by the Portuguese.
It is to be believed, on the contrary, that these works were dragged on for a few decades, for the conclusion of the main revelation, which defends the main entrance, dates from 1720.
From the 19th century to the present day
It is believed that his garrison was in a state of readiness at the time of the Napoleonic Wars , when in 1809, French troops under the command of General Soult concentrated in Ourense in preparation for the invasion. This, on the other hand, occurred on another stretch of the border.
With the peace, lost the strategic-defensive function was unguarded, entering the process of ruin.
In the 20th century the complex was classified as a National Monument by Decree issued on June 23, 1910.
The intervention of the public power began in the 1940s, through the Directorate General of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN), proceeding among other works to rebuild the plans of the wall and battlements and the demolition of some structures in the courtyard. Subsequently, archaeological exploration work was carried out as part of a wider study project in the region.
Although they cannot be dated with precision, the vestiges of the residence of the mayor, the quarter of the trimming, the chapel, the cistern and an oven can be observed.
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