It is located on Rua do Castelo, City of Leiria, in the province of Beira Litoral, headquarters of the Intermunicipal Community of the Leiria Region, in Central Portugal
Leiria Castle, built in a dominant position to the north over the town and the Lis River and the natural landscape, is one of the city's "ex-libris", which receives between 50 and 70 thousand tourists annually.
History of Leiria Castle
It is only known that before its construction there may have been a hermitage and an alcáçova on the site.
At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the 12th century the region constituted a critical point in the defense of the southern border of the Portucalense County, becoming a prosperous medieval economic center thanks to the trade in cereals and food products (wheat, olive oil, wine, fruits), wood (Leiria pine forest), ores (iron, coal, rock salt, limestone) and artisanal products (wool and weaving, leather, pottery, hardware).
When consolidating his government from 1128 onwards, the young D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), planned to expand his domains, which were then limited to the north by the river Minho, to the southwest by the Serra da Estrela and to the south by the river Mondego.
D. Afonso Henriques strategically built a new castle from scratch between Coimbra and Santarém (1135) on top of a rocky elevation a little south of the confluence of the Lis River with the Lena River, under the command of D. Paio Guterres he was entrusted with the defense of the new border he was trying to establish there.
The monarch organized a counter-offensive to contain the advance of the Moors in the epic Battle of Ourique (25 July 1139) and granted a Charter to the town ordering the reconstruction and reinforcement of the castle structure, in which he erected a Chapel in invocation of Our Lady of Pena (1144-1147).
The Leiria castle would permanently belong to the Portucalense County, helping in the conquest of Santarém and Lisbon and in the construction of the country.
His successor, D. Sancho I (1185-1211), granted a new charter to the town (1195) ordering the construction of a walled fence and the development of the town was so significant at the time that he made it the seat of the Cortes of 1254 called by D. Afonso III (1248-1279).
King D. Dinis is credited with adapting the castle to serve as a palace, rebuilding the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Pena, and beginning the construction of the powerful Keep (May 8, 1324) a few months before his death, was completed during the reign of his successor, according to the epigraphic inscription on its exterior.
D. Dinis was probably the monarch who spent the most time in Leiria, together with his wife, Queen Santa Isabel, to whom the legend of the Miracle of the Roses is attributed, this being just one of several stories that were born in Leiria thanks to these kings.
Legend has it that the queen left Leiria Castle on a winter morning to distribute bread to the most disadvantaged, surprised by D. Dinis asked where she was going and what she was carrying in her lap, the queen replied: They are roses, Lord! suspicious D. Dinis asked: “Roses, in January?” and D. Isabel then exposed the contents of the lap of her dress and there were roses in it instead of the bread that she had hidden.
In the following centuries, the Castle and the city would suffer damage from the French invasions, leaving it almost abandoned.
The efforts of the League of Friends of the Castle and the famous Swiss architect, Ernesto Korrodi, carried out restoration work there and restored the connection between this magnificent monument and the population.
In 2021, the requalification works of a large part of the space were completed, allowing the value of its heritage and increasing its tourist potential and open to all citizens through the construction of two mechanical accesses (on the north side and on the south side).
At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the 12th century the region constituted a critical point in the defense of the southern border of the Portucalense County, becoming a prosperous medieval economic center thanks to the trade in cereals and food products (wheat, olive oil, wine, fruits), wood (Leiria pine forest), ores (iron, coal, rock salt, limestone) and artisanal products (wool and weaving, leather, pottery, hardware).
When consolidating his government from 1128 onwards, the young D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), planned to expand his domains, which were then limited to the north by the river Minho, to the southwest by the Serra da Estrela and to the south by the river Mondego.
D. Afonso Henriques strategically built a new castle from scratch between Coimbra and Santarém (1135) on top of a rocky elevation a little south of the confluence of the Lis River with the Lena River, under the command of D. Paio Guterres he was entrusted with the defense of the new border he was trying to establish there.
The monarch organized a counter-offensive to contain the advance of the Moors in the epic Battle of Ourique (25 July 1139) and granted a Charter to the town ordering the reconstruction and reinforcement of the castle structure, in which he erected a Chapel in invocation of Our Lady of Pena (1144-1147).
The Leiria castle would permanently belong to the Portucalense County, helping in the conquest of Santarém and Lisbon and in the construction of the country.
His successor, D. Sancho I (1185-1211), granted a new charter to the town (1195) ordering the construction of a walled fence and the development of the town was so significant at the time that he made it the seat of the Cortes of 1254 called by D. Afonso III (1248-1279).
King D. Dinis is credited with adapting the castle to serve as a palace, rebuilding the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Pena, and beginning the construction of the powerful Keep (May 8, 1324) a few months before his death, was completed during the reign of his successor, according to the epigraphic inscription on its exterior.
D. Dinis was probably the monarch who spent the most time in Leiria, together with his wife, Queen Santa Isabel, to whom the legend of the Miracle of the Roses is attributed, this being just one of several stories that were born in Leiria thanks to these kings.
Legend has it that the queen left Leiria Castle on a winter morning to distribute bread to the most disadvantaged, surprised by D. Dinis asked where she was going and what she was carrying in her lap, the queen replied: They are roses, Lord! suspicious D. Dinis asked: “Roses, in January?” and D. Isabel then exposed the contents of the lap of her dress and there were roses in it instead of the bread that she had hidden.
In the following centuries, the Castle and the city would suffer damage from the French invasions, leaving it almost abandoned.
The efforts of the League of Friends of the Castle and the famous Swiss architect, Ernesto Korrodi, carried out restoration work there and restored the connection between this magnificent monument and the population.
In 2021, the requalification works of a large part of the space were completed, allowing the value of its heritage and increasing its tourist potential and open to all citizens through the construction of two mechanical accesses (on the north side and on the south side).
Characteristics of Leiria Castle
The current configuration of Leiria Castle results from four major intervening periods: the Romanesque of the 12th century, the Dionysian Gothic of the first half of the 14th century, the Johannine Gothic of the early 15th century, the restorative currents of the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
The castle has an irregular polygonal plan marked by the solidity of its defensive system (walls and towers), within which the Royal Palace, the Church of Santa Maria da Pena and the Keep stand out.
In this fence two doors are torn: the Porta do Sol to the south, where the Cathedral Tower is today, and the Porta dos Castelinhos to the north flanked by two towers.
The castle has an irregular polygonal plan marked by the solidity of its defensive system (walls and towers), within which the Royal Palace, the Church of Santa Maria da Pena and the Keep stand out.
In this fence two doors are torn: the Porta do Sol to the south, where the Cathedral Tower is today, and the Porta dos Castelinhos to the north flanked by two towers.
The main structures of Leiria castle
Albacara Gate (cattle collection) in Romanesque elbow style according to Muslim usage, on the base of the towers that defend it, there are some tombstones with Roman inscriptions from the ancient "civitas" of Colipo, which existed near Barreira - in fact a large part of the castle was built with the stones of the civita, apart from the stones moved here.
Casa da Guarda, a complex built at the time of the restoration work that began in 1915, according to Korrodi's original design, on its porch there are some late-Gothic columns and corbels from the cloister of the former Convent of Santa Ana de Leiria (1494-c. 1917-1920), belonging to the nuns of the Order of Saint Dominic.
Bell Tower, access door to the primitive pentagonal fortified enclosure with Romanesque arcades and voussoirs containing orbicular or Templar cruciform signs. In the 13th century, it was adapted as a bell tower for the nearby Church of Santa Maria da Pena, when new Gothic-style windows were opened and it was also called Torre da Buçaqueira, which may indicate that it housed the falcons used by royalty in their hunts.
The Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena or Church of Santa Maria da Pena was the first temple in Leiria, being documented in the 40s of the 12th century and the castella chapel was completely redone during the reigns of D. João I and D. Manuel I, with nothing remaining of the initial design.
The church has a single rectangular nave with a nave and chancel in Gothic style accessed on the side by a pointed portal with five archivolts supported on smooth columns.
The polygonal apse reveals a coverage of ribbed vaults with 7 panels and the side panels of the main chapel are torn by pointed slits with two lights topped by quatrefoils.
The Church was used as a palatial chapel by the Avis Dynasty and in the choir we can even see a Roman stone from Collipo dedicated to Emperor Antoninus Augustus Pius and leaving through the Manueline sacristy we have access to the ruins.
The ruins of the Collegiate Church of Leiria's Crosier canons and clerics in a place of archaeological interest where there were audience rooms, cells and dormitories, a refectory, kitchen, courtyard, cistern that served the religious and served the Church of Pena.
The Paços do Castelo and Paços Reais have a quadrangular plan, measuring 33 m x 21 m, consisting of lateral towers of 4 floors and a central body of 3.
On the lower floor, there is a large hall with three robust Gothic arches (Salão dos Arcos), while on the second floor two smaller halls served the day-to-day life of the palace (kitchen, cellar, bedroom).
On the third floor, the royal rooms are located at the ends, divided by the Noble Hall (Audience Hall) which opened onto a gallery or loggia with Mediterranean Gothic arcades from which you can enjoy a beautiful landscape over the city. The two bodies that flank it constitute a fourth floor whose interior was divided into luxurious sanitary facilities.
The Interior Courtyard, of historical and architectural interest, is a testimony to the monument's restoration policies in the 20th century, with emphasis on the options for false ruin and intentionally unfinished work.
Medieval Barns is a set of three barns dating from the 13th century, vaulted in masonry that should have been originally topped with wood and mud construction, now disappeared.
The Gate of Treason and False Ruins, torn from the wall to the west, almost completely restored in the 1930s, marks the site of the original gate, where Muslims are believed to have entered in one of the castle's captures.
The keep, with its prismatic plan, rising to 17 meters in height (some added during its reconstruction), is divided internally into three floors topped by terraces and crowned by quadrangular merlons. It was built on the foundations of a previous tower by D. Dinis and a Gothic epigraphic tombstone with the royal coats of arms inscribed marks this fact on the left side next to the door.
The Cathedral Bell Tower, in baroque style, rose over one of the old medieval towers of Porta do Sol and, around 1546, it was enlarged and renovated, and the castle door was used to install the bell ringer's house.
The Portas do Norte or Castelinhos mark the beginning of the Romanesque walls of Leiria that covered a perimeter of around 5 hectares to the North and East, prior to 1152 they gave access to the disappeared parish church of Santiago and the Coimbrã Bridge.
The Northern Gates are made up of two lookout quadrigas and a barbican on whose portico one of the oldest coats of arms of the municipality of Leiria is inscribed (14th century), around a castle two pine trees topped by crows symbolizing the legend of the founding of Leiria by D. Afonso Henriques.
The former Episcopal Palace, today occupied by the PSP, is a significant example of Portuguese manor architecture from the 17th century, highlighting the portal and the overlapping noble window. It stands on the site of the former Royal Palaces of São Simão where D. Afonso III, D. Dinis, Queen Santa Isabel and D. Fernando resided, it was in this place where the Cortes of 1254 took place.
Casa da Guarda, a complex built at the time of the restoration work that began in 1915, according to Korrodi's original design, on its porch there are some late-Gothic columns and corbels from the cloister of the former Convent of Santa Ana de Leiria (1494-c. 1917-1920), belonging to the nuns of the Order of Saint Dominic.
Bell Tower, access door to the primitive pentagonal fortified enclosure with Romanesque arcades and voussoirs containing orbicular or Templar cruciform signs. In the 13th century, it was adapted as a bell tower for the nearby Church of Santa Maria da Pena, when new Gothic-style windows were opened and it was also called Torre da Buçaqueira, which may indicate that it housed the falcons used by royalty in their hunts.
The Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena or Church of Santa Maria da Pena was the first temple in Leiria, being documented in the 40s of the 12th century and the castella chapel was completely redone during the reigns of D. João I and D. Manuel I, with nothing remaining of the initial design.
The church has a single rectangular nave with a nave and chancel in Gothic style accessed on the side by a pointed portal with five archivolts supported on smooth columns.
The polygonal apse reveals a coverage of ribbed vaults with 7 panels and the side panels of the main chapel are torn by pointed slits with two lights topped by quatrefoils.
The Church was used as a palatial chapel by the Avis Dynasty and in the choir we can even see a Roman stone from Collipo dedicated to Emperor Antoninus Augustus Pius and leaving through the Manueline sacristy we have access to the ruins.
The ruins of the Collegiate Church of Leiria's Crosier canons and clerics in a place of archaeological interest where there were audience rooms, cells and dormitories, a refectory, kitchen, courtyard, cistern that served the religious and served the Church of Pena.
The Paços do Castelo and Paços Reais have a quadrangular plan, measuring 33 m x 21 m, consisting of lateral towers of 4 floors and a central body of 3.
On the lower floor, there is a large hall with three robust Gothic arches (Salão dos Arcos), while on the second floor two smaller halls served the day-to-day life of the palace (kitchen, cellar, bedroom).
On the third floor, the royal rooms are located at the ends, divided by the Noble Hall (Audience Hall) which opened onto a gallery or loggia with Mediterranean Gothic arcades from which you can enjoy a beautiful landscape over the city. The two bodies that flank it constitute a fourth floor whose interior was divided into luxurious sanitary facilities.
The Interior Courtyard, of historical and architectural interest, is a testimony to the monument's restoration policies in the 20th century, with emphasis on the options for false ruin and intentionally unfinished work.
Medieval Barns is a set of three barns dating from the 13th century, vaulted in masonry that should have been originally topped with wood and mud construction, now disappeared.
The Gate of Treason and False Ruins, torn from the wall to the west, almost completely restored in the 1930s, marks the site of the original gate, where Muslims are believed to have entered in one of the castle's captures.
The keep, with its prismatic plan, rising to 17 meters in height (some added during its reconstruction), is divided internally into three floors topped by terraces and crowned by quadrangular merlons. It was built on the foundations of a previous tower by D. Dinis and a Gothic epigraphic tombstone with the royal coats of arms inscribed marks this fact on the left side next to the door.
The Cathedral Bell Tower, in baroque style, rose over one of the old medieval towers of Porta do Sol and, around 1546, it was enlarged and renovated, and the castle door was used to install the bell ringer's house.
The Portas do Norte or Castelinhos mark the beginning of the Romanesque walls of Leiria that covered a perimeter of around 5 hectares to the North and East, prior to 1152 they gave access to the disappeared parish church of Santiago and the Coimbrã Bridge.
The Northern Gates are made up of two lookout quadrigas and a barbican on whose portico one of the oldest coats of arms of the municipality of Leiria is inscribed (14th century), around a castle two pine trees topped by crows symbolizing the legend of the founding of Leiria by D. Afonso Henriques.
The former Episcopal Palace, today occupied by the PSP, is a significant example of Portuguese manor architecture from the 17th century, highlighting the portal and the overlapping noble window. It stands on the site of the former Royal Palaces of São Simão where D. Afonso III, D. Dinis, Queen Santa Isabel and D. Fernando resided, it was in this place where the Cortes of 1254 took place.
