|
Land
around Sintra
in
Portugal
has been chronicled in Arab documents as
being rich and fertile and the castle the Moors
constructed in either eighth or ninth century was the
most important building in the surroundings at the time.
The
Castelo dos Mouros was all but
destroyed in 1147 when
Afonso Henriques, the first king
of
Portugal
's crusading army conquered
Lisbon and the
surrounds. Although the garrison of Moors stationed at
the Castle surrendered without much resistance, the
majority of the fortification was left in ruins.
The castle was repaired under the
orders of King Sancho I (Afonso's son and predecessor).
The castle fell into decline though in the 15th century
when the majority of the population of
Sintra chose to
settle at the foot of the hill it sits atop. The last
inhabitants of the castle - the Sintra Jews - abandoned
the castle in the 16th century when it had lost of
military relevance.
Almost two centuries later King
Ferdinand II started the colossal project of restoring
the now ruined castle, with more of a romantic view
point. The walls and the towers of the castle were
restored though the Church of St Peter was left in
ruins.
Today the
Castelo dos Mouros blends
into the vegetation and provides a fairytale like
appearance and is visited by thousands every year. |
