It is located in the parish, city and municipality of Pombal, district of Leiria, Central Portugal
Pombal Castle in a dominant position on a rocky massif on the banks of the Arunca River, the Templar castle played a decisive role in the defense of the region at the time of the affirmation of nationality and later in the consolidation of the county.
The earliest human occupation dates back to a Roman fortification later occupied by Muslims according to archaeological evidence recovered on the castle hill.
The construction of the Castle took place at the time of the Christian Reconquista in the 12th century during the reign of D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), in a period between 1159, the date of the Foral da Redinha - which includes a clause to pay the lease like that of the lands of Pombal and 1171 ("era of 1209") according to the epigraphic inscription of that date in Almourol which refers to the construction of a series of castles, including that of Pombal by Gualdim Pais (son of Paio Ramires) then Master of the Templar Order in Portugal.
In 1128, Pombal Castle was donated to the Order of the Temple, to which Afonso Henriques was responsible for defending the city of Coimbra, then capital of the kingdom.
The donation proves that the location already had a high military value at that time as it had been a fortified point in the immediately preceding centuries in which this portion of territory had been fought over by Christians and Muslims.
The Romanesque fortress built by the Templars began in the 1950s and continued until almost the end of the century.
The work began with the fortress fence, only then the keep, which dates back to 1171, and which has the particularity of having a fence, a defensive device introduced in the country by the Order of the Temple, was erected.
The completion of the project was marked with an inscription on the door of the tower usual in military ventures promoted by D. Gualdim Pais, later removed and deposited in the Convent of Christ in Tomar where it is still located today.
Pombal Castle follows the same Templar architectural lines present not only in Almourol, but also in those of Idanha, Monsanto, Tomar and Zêzere, its contemporaries.
The function of this group was to provide the defense and settlement of these lands south of the Mondego River entrusted to the Order.
Gualdim Pais himself granted a charter to Pombal in 1174, a village that developed on the southern slope of the castle hill where the main gate and the churches of Santa Maria do Castelo and São Pedro (the latter now demolished) were located.
Under the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325), faced with the extinction of the Templar Order by the Pope (1311-1312), the sovereign transferred the Order's assets in the country to the Order of Christ (1317).
Pombal and its castle were the scene of peace between the sovereign and his son D. Afonso celebrated in the Church of São Martinho (1323).
Under the reign of D. João I (1385-1433), at the beginning of the 15th century, the main mayor of the town and its castle were donated by the sovereign to the Count of Castelo Melhor and his family as a manorial residence until 1834.
D. Manuel I (1495-1521) visited the town and castle of Pombal (1509), there was an initial reformulation of the structure and he determined the reconstruction of the old medieval tower with the definition of barbicans and the reinforcement of the walls.
Pombal Castle has a shield-shaped plan with walls topped by prismatic battlements and reinforced at the angles and at regular intervals by quadrangular turrets.
Access was through two doors with a broken arch, one to the southeast between turrets, the other to the northwest torn open during the reign of D. Manuel and therefore marked with the traditional symbols of this monarch: the royal shield, the armillary sphere and the cross of Christ.
The imposing quadrangular keep, with a ramped base and a door on the first floor, stands close to the castle's original door.
Inside the walls, the foundations of buildings and the mouths of the cistern can still be seen. On the southwest side, a double window is visible, on the panel of which there is the coat of arms of the Sousa Ribeiro, former mayors of the castle.
On the outside, on the platform below the hill where the castle stands, there are the ruins of a second curtain wall, equipped with 3 quadrangular turrets as well as what remains of a Renaissance chapel belonging to the disappeared church of Santa Maria do Castelo.
Its walls, battlemented and lined with abutments, were reinforced by ten quadrangular cubes, protected by a barbican of which remains remain near the two doors and by an outer belt of walls.
In the square of arms, the keep stands off-centred to the south with a quadrangular plan supported on a frustum-conical base on two giant wedge-shaped adjoins and in the enclosure of the square of arms the remains of the primitive Romanesque church of São Miguel can be identified.
To the west of the complex stands the Manueline fortress highlighting the royal coats of arms and a semi-detached window and outside the walls on the south side are the ruins of the old parish church of Pombal, which was the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo.
The intervention of public authorities was only felt in the 1940s when consolidation and partial restoration works were carried out by the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments.
New intervention and restoration campaigns took place in 1975, 2000 and 2001 aimed at recovering and enhancing the keep and currently plans are being made to revitalize this heritage.
The earliest human occupation dates back to a Roman fortification later occupied by Muslims according to archaeological evidence recovered on the castle hill.
The construction of the Castle took place at the time of the Christian Reconquista in the 12th century during the reign of D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), in a period between 1159, the date of the Foral da Redinha - which includes a clause to pay the lease like that of the lands of Pombal and 1171 ("era of 1209") according to the epigraphic inscription of that date in Almourol which refers to the construction of a series of castles, including that of Pombal by Gualdim Pais (son of Paio Ramires) then Master of the Templar Order in Portugal.
In 1128, Pombal Castle was donated to the Order of the Temple, to which Afonso Henriques was responsible for defending the city of Coimbra, then capital of the kingdom.
The donation proves that the location already had a high military value at that time as it had been a fortified point in the immediately preceding centuries in which this portion of territory had been fought over by Christians and Muslims.
The Romanesque fortress built by the Templars began in the 1950s and continued until almost the end of the century.
The work began with the fortress fence, only then the keep, which dates back to 1171, and which has the particularity of having a fence, a defensive device introduced in the country by the Order of the Temple, was erected.
The completion of the project was marked with an inscription on the door of the tower usual in military ventures promoted by D. Gualdim Pais, later removed and deposited in the Convent of Christ in Tomar where it is still located today.
Pombal Castle follows the same Templar architectural lines present not only in Almourol, but also in those of Idanha, Monsanto, Tomar and Zêzere, its contemporaries.
The function of this group was to provide the defense and settlement of these lands south of the Mondego River entrusted to the Order.
Gualdim Pais himself granted a charter to Pombal in 1174, a village that developed on the southern slope of the castle hill where the main gate and the churches of Santa Maria do Castelo and São Pedro (the latter now demolished) were located.
Under the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325), faced with the extinction of the Templar Order by the Pope (1311-1312), the sovereign transferred the Order's assets in the country to the Order of Christ (1317).
Pombal and its castle were the scene of peace between the sovereign and his son D. Afonso celebrated in the Church of São Martinho (1323).
Under the reign of D. João I (1385-1433), at the beginning of the 15th century, the main mayor of the town and its castle were donated by the sovereign to the Count of Castelo Melhor and his family as a manorial residence until 1834.
D. Manuel I (1495-1521) visited the town and castle of Pombal (1509), there was an initial reformulation of the structure and he determined the reconstruction of the old medieval tower with the definition of barbicans and the reinforcement of the walls.
Pombal Castle has a shield-shaped plan with walls topped by prismatic battlements and reinforced at the angles and at regular intervals by quadrangular turrets.
Access was through two doors with a broken arch, one to the southeast between turrets, the other to the northwest torn open during the reign of D. Manuel and therefore marked with the traditional symbols of this monarch: the royal shield, the armillary sphere and the cross of Christ.
The imposing quadrangular keep, with a ramped base and a door on the first floor, stands close to the castle's original door.
Inside the walls, the foundations of buildings and the mouths of the cistern can still be seen. On the southwest side, a double window is visible, on the panel of which there is the coat of arms of the Sousa Ribeiro, former mayors of the castle.
On the outside, on the platform below the hill where the castle stands, there are the ruins of a second curtain wall, equipped with 3 quadrangular turrets as well as what remains of a Renaissance chapel belonging to the disappeared church of Santa Maria do Castelo.
Its walls, battlemented and lined with abutments, were reinforced by ten quadrangular cubes, protected by a barbican of which remains remain near the two doors and by an outer belt of walls.
In the square of arms, the keep stands off-centred to the south with a quadrangular plan supported on a frustum-conical base on two giant wedge-shaped adjoins and in the enclosure of the square of arms the remains of the primitive Romanesque church of São Miguel can be identified.
To the west of the complex stands the Manueline fortress highlighting the royal coats of arms and a semi-detached window and outside the walls on the south side are the ruins of the old parish church of Pombal, which was the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo.
The intervention of public authorities was only felt in the 1940s when consolidation and partial restoration works were carried out by the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments.
New intervention and restoration campaigns took place in 1975, 2000 and 2001 aimed at recovering and enhancing the keep and currently plans are being made to revitalize this heritage.
