Ourém Castle

Ourém's castle sits on a hill above the modern town, and what makes it unusual is that it is not really a castle: Afonso, fourth Count of Ourém, rebuilt it in the 1450s as a palace with defences, adding three towers linked by a gallery and banded in brick - a material almost unused in Portuguese military architecture and probably picked up on his travels in Italy - with a vaulted cistern beneath. Around it the walled medieval burgh survives as a small settlement of white houses, a fifteenth-century church holding the count's tomb, a pillory and lanes, largely intact because the population moved downhill and left it alone. The 1755 earthquake and the French invasions damaged it and restoration came in the twentieth century; it has been a National Monument since 1910 and now also houses a repository of relics. It is ten kilometres from Fátima, which brings some pilgrim traffic, but it stays quiet compared with the sanctuary.

What you'll find

• The brick-banded towers - three linked towers in a material rare in Portuguese castles.
• The palace plan - a 1450s residence with defences rather than a pure fortification.
• The walled burgh - a small intact medieval settlement inside the walls.
• The count's tomb - in the fifteenth-century church below the castle.

When to go

April to October. One to two hours. Much quieter than Fátima nearby, even in pilgrimage season.

Good to know

Steep cobbled approach and uneven ground. Restoration in the twentieth century shaped a good deal of what stands. Facilities in the medieval burgh are limited to a couple of cafés. Interpretation is thin.

Nearby

Fátima is ten kilometres south-west; Tomar and its convent are east.

Key facts