Castelo Branco - Portugal

Castelo Branco is the capital city of one of my neighbour districts. Both these cards were sent by Paula "geminiscp more than 10 years ago.

 

Castelo Branco is the seat of the district and one of the largest municipalities in the country. The city owes its name to the existence of a Luso-Roman fort, Castra Leuca. 

 

In this historic city visitors will see old manor houses, rich churches, wide streets and beautiful gardens. Undoubtedly, of note is the former Bishop's Palace of Guarda, built in 1596, and its famous Baroque Garden built in different plans, with lakes, waterfalls, fountains and unique statuary, with the curious statues of the Spanish kings during their 60 years of dominance in Portuguese territory, more disproportionate than the rest.

 

 

Photo by Dias dos Reis

 

The construction of the Castelo Branco Castle is attributed to the Templar Military Order, around the year 1220, which received these lands from the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques, after its conquest from the Arabs. This fortress was part of the so called “Tejo river defensive line”, from which also were part the lovely Almourol Castle, the Monsanto Castle, the Tomar Castle and the Zêzere Castle. In the 16th century, Castelo Branco had the configuration of a fortress-locality, in which even the mother church is located inside the castle. Throughout the years the castle has been damaged by the Castile attacks and even by the French invasions. The period after the French invasions aggravated the destructive process for all the defensive structures, as even the public power authorized the population to remove stones from the walls in order to built their residences. Since 1940 that the Castle has been receiving several conservation works, despite some consider that all the alterations transformed the monument main features. - in: http://www.getportugal.com/en/poi-castelo-de-castelo-branco-14501