Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira

The castle at Santa Maria da Feira occupies a site fortified since at least the ninth century - the terra de Santa Maria was one of the territorial units from which Portugal was assembled - and the building that stands is largely a fifteenth-century reworking, with a keep flanked by four turrets under tall conical caps, a barbican, a moat and an outer wall. Those pointed caps are what make it look like a storybook castle and why it appears on so much regional material. It was restored heavily in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Each August the town stages Viagem Medieval, a medieval festival that is among the largest in Europe, filling the castle and the surrounding streets for a fortnight with markets, encampments, performers and tens of thousands of visitors a night. Outside that, it is a quiet castle with a good wall walk and views towards the coast.

History

In 868 Alfonso III of León created the Terra de Santa Maria, basing its defences on the fortress here, and for many years it was a forward base of the Christian Reconquista. Twice in 1000 the armies of Al-Mansur took the castle, and in 1128 it was at the centre of the revolt of Afonso Henriques against his mother, Countess Teresa (Wikipedia, Castle of Santa Maria da Feira).

The main sights

• The conical turrets - four pointed caps around the keep, the castle's signature.
• The defences - barbican, moat and outer wall around the fifteenth-century core.
• The Viagem Medieval - one of Europe's largest medieval festivals, each August.
• The restoration - heavy nineteenth and twentieth-century rebuilding of the fabric.

When to go

April to October. One to two hours. August brings the medieval festival, which is a completely different experience and needs planning.

Practical notes

Significant portions are modern restoration. During the August festival the castle and town are packed and normal visiting is impossible. Steep steps and uneven ground. Interpretation inside is limited.

Nearby

Porto is north; Aveiro and its lagoon are south.

Key facts