Tomar Castle
![]() | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Portuguese. (July 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Tomar_Castelo_0244.jpg/220px-Tomar_Castelo_0244.jpg)
The Tomar Castle is a castle in Portugal, where it is classified as a national monument. The Convento de Cristo was built inside its walls.
The castle was built by King Afonso Henriques around 1160 on a strategic location, over a hill and near river Nabão. It has an outer defensive wall and a citadel (alcáçova) with a keep inside. The keep, a central tower of residential and defensive functions, was introduced in Portugal by the Templars, and the one in Tomar is one of the oldest in the country. Another novelty introduced in Portugal by the Templars (learned from decades of experience in Normandy and Brittany and elsewhere) are the round towers in the outer walls, which are more resistant to attacks than square towers. When the town was founded, most of its residents lived in dwellings located inside the protective outer walls of the castle.
Tomar was besieged for five days during the Almohad campaign of 1190.[1]
See also
References
- ^ Stephen Lay (2009), The Reconquest Kings of Portugal: Political and Cultural Reorientation on the Medieval Frontier, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 157–159.
- Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
- Articles with short description
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Building and structure articles needing translation from Portuguese Wikipedia
- Castles in Portugal
- National monuments in Santarém District
- Buildings and structures in Tomar
- Castles in Santarém District
- Castles and fortifications of the Knights Templar
- Coordinates on Wikidata
- All stub articles
- Portuguese castle stubs