Lisbon plan of the castle of st george. Castle St.
The Castle of St. George in Lisbon is a remarkable historical building that has long served as a fortress wall protecting the Portuguese capital from foreign invaders. Its history has been going on for more than two thousand years and can easily tell about the most significant events in the history of the metropolis, including the devastating earthquake of 1755.
The ancient historical building was erected by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then it belonged to the Romans, and after the Moors it was rebuilt by their tribes many times. The latter, by the way, inhabited this territory for several centuries and made it their haven. The liberation of the wall took place only in 1147 thanks to the brave Portuguese monarch Afonso Henriques. Since then, the fortress was turned into a royal residence and was actively used by the rulers. It was here that the most significant events in the history of Portugal during the Great geographical discoveries(the expedition victories of Vashku da Gama and other famous sailors were celebrated).
After construction more luxurious castle in Baixa and the transfer of the residence there, the palace of St. George was used as:
-theatre
- prisons
- arsenal.
The earthquake of 1755 had an especially detrimental effect on the significance of the building, which turned it into ruins. It was possible to breathe life into the old buildings only in 1938, during the reign of the tough dictator Salazar. By order of the latter, the fortress walls were substantially restored, and not far from them a beautiful city park with several monuments, fountains and numerous green spaces was organized.
During the excursion to the Castle of St. George, you can walk along the fortress walls, enjoy the incomparable landscapes of the city, opening from the roof of the palace, relax in the picturesque garden, delighting visitors with clean lakes with ducks, geese and peacocks.
It should be noted that with observation deck São Jorge, you can see not only the general panorama of the city and the tiled roofs of houses, but also consider some, in particular: the statue of Christ, Piazza Rossio, Praça do Commercio square, Santa Justa funicular and some others.
In addition, the building regularly hosts multimedia exhibitions that tell the story. Among the projections, there are videos about the journey of Vasco da Gama during the opening of the sea route to India, the events of the earthquake of 1755, the story of the fall of the Church of Karmo and other significant events that took place in the Portuguese capital from the time of the Inquisition to the reign of Salazar.
Castle of St. George in Lisbon: opening hours
You can enjoy the incomparable interiors and openwork bas-reliefs of the castle during the season (from March to October) from 9 to 21, and in the absence of an influx of tourists (in the remaining months) - from 9 to 18. Despite the fact that, as a rule, the structure is ready to receive guests daily, it may be closed during national holidays.
Castle of St. George in Lisbon: ticket prices
The cost of visiting a lovely medieval fortress will cost almost 9 euros for adults, for children you will have to pay about 5 euros. If you want to save money, in the case of a trip to the castle with a large family, you can buy a comprehensive family pass.
Castle of St. George in Lisbon: how to get there?
Located in the historical part of the city, Alfama district, not far from the Tagus river embankment. You can get to it in several ways:
- by metro (a hundred meters from the attraction there is an underground transport stop Martim Moniz)
- by tram on route 28 (the required stop is Miradouro de Santa Luzia)
- as a result of a scenic trip on the old ski lift "Gloria".
Lovers of increased comfort can also use the services of taxi drivers, which for 10 euros will take you to the Castle of St. George from almost anywhere in the Portuguese capital.
Walking the streets of ancient Lisbon, it is impossible not to pay attention to the outstanding hill, "crowned" by the main fortress of the Portuguese capital, visible even from the outskirts of the city. The Castle of St. George is located in such a prominent place that inevitably attracts the attention of tourists, whose unquenchable interest has made the "flagship" of Portuguese castles one of the most visited attractions in Lisbon.
The highest of the seven hills of Lisbon from time immemorial was considered a strategic hill, so from ancient times it was "crowned" with fortifications that belonged to the Romans, then the Visigoths, then the Moors. The fortified "height" came under the rule of Portugal thanks to the first king of the state, who actively carried out the Reconquista. Afonso I Enriques in 1147, with the support of the crusaders, after a three-month siege, took the castle of the Moorish emir. From then until the appearance of the Ribeira Palace in the 16th century, the liberated fortress served as a royal palace, and the liberator Afonso I Enriques was immortalized in the form of a statue located on the territory of the castle.
The castle, whose name in Portuguese sounds like Castelo de São Jorge, in the XIV century, under King João I, received the name of George the Victorious, patron of knights and crusades. And such a renaming is not accidental, linking it with the establishment of close relations with England, whose patron Saint George is traditionally considered to be its patron.
After the more elegant Ribeira Palace was preferred to the rude fortress, the Castle of St. George was set aside for military needs, and was used as a barracks, and over time it was completely retrained into a prison, which did not in the best way affect the preservation of the ancient structure. After all this, as well as after the devastating earthquake of 1755, the fortification needed restoration, which was carried out twice in the 20th century.
Harsh rectangular towers, wide battlements, an impassable dry moat - here it is, a formidable castle with a genuine military past. And inside it is hidden a real oasis - on an area of 6,000 square meters there are two parks where different types of trees coexist: pines, oaks, olive trees and many other types of vegetation. Among all this park greenery peacocks flicker with their colorful plumage, and white swans slowly sway on the glittering surface of reservoirs.
In 1910, the Castle of St. George was declared a National Monument of Portugal. Now, in addition to regular excursions, ceremonial events, various performances and exhibitions are held here, among which a wide collection of iconography is of particular interest.
The Castle of Saint George (Castelo de São Jorge, Castelo de São Jorge) is a sacred place for the Portuguese. It was with the conquest of the Moorish fortress, standing on a high hill at the mouth of the Tagus, by Don Alfonso Henriques on October 25, 1147 that a country called Portugal and a city named Lisbon began, and Don Alfonso Henriques, as expected, became the first king, the founder of the dynasty. The most ancient Portuguese legends are associated with this place. However, many tourists consider visiting the castle not an obligatory point for exploring Lisbon, they say, this is just another observation deck from which another wonderful view of Lisbon opens, and this observation deck, unlike many others, is paid.
But as an eyewitness who has examined the fortress, I can tell you that a certain charm is still hidden in the castle of St. George. The view from the walls of the castle is really stunning, only from the hill you can view Lisbon from almost all sides, look into the small courtyards located under the very walls of the castle, touch the truly ancient stones. In spite of all the tourist popularity of the castle, on the top of the hill it embraces the feeling of peace, solemnity and slowness of what is happening. Next, I will share my impressions of visiting the fortress, so that you yourself can decide if this is exactly what you need?
Castle of Saint George at the top of the hill
The Castle of St. George is clearly visible from anywhere in Lisbon, it stands on a high hill above the city. We climbed to the castle on foot from the Commerce Square, we have to go up the hill, but on the way you can see the Cathedral of Lisbon, admire the views of the city from the Santa Luzia observation deck, see the azulejos decorating its magnificent panels, if you wish, go down to Alfama and walk along the old part of the city, which has preserved its medieval buildings.
If you don't want to walk at all, then you can drive up to the entrance to the castle by bus # 37 or trams # 28 and 12. Only a bus drives up to the entrance from the tram stop to go further.
Counter opposite the bus stop The cost of tickets to the Castle of St. George
A ticket to the castle costs 8.5 €, free for children under 10 years old. The castle is open daily from 9 am to 9 pm, the entrance is closed 30 minutes before 9 pm. Into the high tourist season queues are possible for tickets. Near the ticket office, you can take a brochure with explanations for the inspection in Russian.
Saint George's Castle Map The ticket price to the fortress includes a visit to the camera obscura and the archaeological zone with a guide. These events are held in Portuguese and English language by sessions, so immediately upon entering, ask when the next session will be in English in order to plan your visit. On the official site of the Castle of St. George, the time of the sessions is not indicated in any way, the Portuguese sites leave much to be desired.
The gate to the castle, 1842 History of the Castle of St. George
Naturally, as confirmed by archaeological excavations, people lived on a high hill above the Tagus River from the 7th-8th centuries BC, long before the appearance of the first states, cities and borders. There are written records that the defensive walls stood at the top of the hill during the time of the ancient Romans. But we are still more interested in the moment of the formation of the Portuguese statehood.
Don Alfonso Enriques, already mentioned by me (Enriques means the son of Henry, that is, in those distant times on the Iberian Peninsula, almost patronymic names were used), a Portuguese born count at the age of only 14 expelled his mother from his lands, who did not burn with the desire to cede power to the grown-up son, defeated her ally the King of Castile, thus achieving the independence of his county and devoted many years of his life to the wars with the Moors, who were firmly established in the south of his possessions.
Monument to Don Alfonso Henriques on the territory of the castle Don Alphonso was not only a skillful warrior, but also a clever politician. He managed to win over to his side the French knights who went on the Second Crusade. Instead of freeing the Holy Sepulcher, the knights began to fight against the Moors on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula. The siege of the Moorish castle, standing on the site of the present Castle of St. George, lasted for 4 long months.
Of course, without the legendary hero taking last stronghold Moors did not do it. It is said that the crusaders managed to break into the fortress thanks to the self-sacrifice of the knight Martim Moniz. The hero found secret door into the fortress, and with a small detachment of knights entered into an unequal battle with the Moors. Martim Monish literally with his body did not allow this door to be closed until the main forces arrived. Until now, the same gate is shown in the castle. I personally am rather skeptical about such statements, since then more than 9 centuries have passed, according to the official chronology. Are there real objects on earth, created by human hands, capable of withstanding such a period, surviving a destructive earthquake?
Gate Martim Moniz, photo 1908 We did not see Moniz's gate, because there was a renovation at the time of our visit, modern photos the gateway on the Internet no longer shows a bust of a beardless young man and a memorial plaque dedicated to him. The name of the legendary knight Martim Monis is a large square in the city center and the metro station located there. Those. Until now, the hero is respected, both by those in power and by the common people.
From the moment of the capture of the fortress for the Castle of St. George, a golden age begins. All Portuguese kings have kept their official residences in the castle for four centuries, from the 13th to the 16th century.
Illustration for the manuscript of 1505, it can be seen that the castle is significantly different from what we see now Naturally, during this time much was built and much was demolished. There is practically nothing left of the royal palaces. Now in the building that previously belonged to the royal residence, a rather expensive restaurant is open, but the interior is extremely simple, only Gothic brick vaults have survived from the old days. And even with such views from the observation deck, lunch in the interior looks strange, even the most chic atmosphere of the restaurant cannot surpass the view of Lisbon from the castle walls.
Ruins of the former royal palace
At the end of the 16th century, the royal court leaves the Castle of St. George, the era of great geographical discoveries begins, money poured into Portugal with an unprecedented force until then. The king feels so confident in his country that he no longer needs to defend his residence with the thick walls of the castle. The new huge royal palace of Ribeira in the style of Versailles is being built on the very bank of the Tagus River, on the site where the Commerce Square is now located. From this moment, the decline begins. On the territory of the castle, barracks are erected and for a long time the castle belongs to the military. The earthquake of 1755 caused significant damage to the fortress walls.
Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the Castle of St. George was awarded the honorary title of a national monument and restoration work began. It is difficult to say how old exactly those walls that we can see now, almost certainly they were thoroughly renovated quite recently, nothing lasts forever under the Moon. The restoration also included the demolition of barracks and institutions of a later construction.
This is what the castle looked like in the 19th century Archaeological excavations have been carried out confirming the antiquity of the castle. Now, what was found during excavations is exhibited in a special archaeological museum, but all these shards and fragments of bygone times are unlikely to impress anyone. The archaeological museums of Portugal can only interest narrow specialists in archeology; most tourists will not find anything interesting there for themselves.
What to do at St. George's Castle?
You just need to walk around the castle, enjoy the views from its walls. Perhaps arranging yourself a dinner at one of the stone tables is a great idea. There is only one restaurant on the territory, the prices there are slightly overpriced due to the popularity of the place, but nothing prevents you from grabbing sandwiches bought in the store.
Tables and benches on the walls of the castle We bought ourselves a glass of port at the Wine with view mobile kiosk, sat and enjoyed a great view of the city.
In the castle of St. George 
Tagus River, April 25 Bridge and Cristo Rei 
The roofs of Lisbon, the Figueira square was captured in the frame 
Courtyards of local residents under the very walls of the castle I highly recommend visiting the camera obscura. The camera obscura is located in the treasury tower or archive tower. All royal wealth (tax revenues and royal rent) and government securities were consistently kept in Torre do Tombo. Until now, the Portuguese national archive is called Torre do Tombo, which literally means the tower-archive.
As I already mentioned, the visit to the camera obscura is organized by sessions in Portuguese and English. The essence of the attraction is that a cunning, purely mechanical device of lenses and mirrors projects an image of Lisbon onto a concave mirror. A camera attendant shows the audience about various monuments and buildings in Lisbon and talks about them. With the help of a lever, the guide moves the image over the mirror, in fact, in this way we saw the whole city in 20 minutes. Since the process takes place in real time, when bad weather camera obscura can be closed.
Camera obscura, photo from the official site of the Castle Of course we climbed all the fortress walls. We took 10,000 photos.
Castle walls But we did not have time to visit the Moorish Quarter (XI-XII centuries) with a guide, the last session had already ended. The archaeological zone itself does not look interesting at all, you can see only foundations there.
Archaeological Zone of the Castle 
Archaeological area of the castle The main treasures of the Mauritanian Quarter are hidden under a reinforced concrete case, so you won't be able to see anything on your own. The brochure promises to show 2 buildings with a total area of 160 and 190 sq. m, decorated with geometric patterns in the Moorish style. The main value of these buildings lies in the fact that they date from the XI-XII centuries, i.e. this is even before the Portuguese period. If anyone has been on this excursion, please share the details in the comments. Portuguese cat 
Tourists have nothing to feed the peacock
In general, the Castle of St. George is certainly very ancient place, very significant for the Portuguese, but you need to soberly assess the nature of the exhibition. Usually, ancient artifacts do not look very beautiful and the very antiquity of the relics is not capable of impressing the vast majority of tourists. However, we really liked the walk through the castle, we are not at all sorry for the money spent on entrance tickets.
Later we visited the castle of the Moors in Sintra and concluded that both of these castles were built in the same style, the main thing there is the impressive views from the walls and the surrounding nature. In the castle of the Moors in Sintra, nature includes forests, plants and flowers, and in the castle of St. George in Lisbon, it includes peacocks, cats and Mediterranean pines.
In the next article I will explain. The article will be prepared based on the materials of a tourist brochure that fell into my hands in Lisbon.
Want to travel to Lisbon on your own? Read one article for a short one. You will learn: about all types of transfers from the airport (cost), about the cost of tickets for public transport, get a plan of sightseeing the city for 6 days, find out which museums are worth visiting and which ones to skip.
Monsaraz is a small, frontier Portuguese walled city on a hilltop overlooking the vast expanses of the Alentejo, vineyards, olive groves, neighboring Spain and the Guadiana River, the natural border between Spain and Portugal.
The walled city is literally a few kilometers north of Moran, and also on the mountain. However, unlike neighboring Palmela and Morana, the entire historical center of the city is located inside the fortress walls and is perfectly preserved, only a few houses stand outside them.
In our era, Monsarash in turn belonged to the Romans, Moors, Visigoths and many other tribes. Modern history castle in Monsaraz begins with the time of the Knights Templar. In the 13th century they erected the fortress walls and the citadel, and the city took its important place in the chain of defensive structures of Portugal.
Now inside the city, through the ancient walls, you can go unhindered at any time of the day or night. The citadel adjoins the city wall from the inside, which is also well preserved, with free and free entrance.
Moorish fortress
The Moorish fortress is located on the Serra de Sintra mountain, in Sintra. The fortress was built by the Moors between the 9th and 10th centuries, and already in 1147 it was taken by storm by Alfon Henry during the war in the name of establishing Christian rule in Portugal. After the 15th century, the fortress ceased to be strategic site to this day, it pleases numerous travelers.
The walls of the fortress stand on huge boulders, and the watchtowers offer panoramic views of the city, green parks and the nearby Pena Palace. On the same towers, the flags of Portugal from different times are waving. Inside the fortress you will find cisterns with drinking water built by the Moors in case of a siege.
The opportunity to walk along the winding staircases, admire the city from a bird's eye view and visit the nearby Pena Palace will cost you 12 euros.
Fortress of St. George
Castle of Saint George, located in historic center the city, on a hill, is the main castle of Lisbon. Locals most often this castle is called the "Cradle of the City", since it is believed that the history of the capital of Portugal began in this place.
It is believed that the settlement of this site began long before the advent of the Romans. At the very top of the hill there was a fortress that protected the Tagus River and the surrounding area. In the period from the 5th century BC. and until the beginning of the 8th century, the fortress belonged to the West Goths, but then it was captured by the Saracens. Some of the walls that have survived to this day were built during the reign of the Moors, which lasted until 1147. After the expulsion of the Moors, Afonso Enriques founded his kingdom. Three hundred years later, magnificent celebrations took place in this castle on the occasion of the return of Vasco da Gama from India. After moving the residence of the kings, the castle of St. George served as a theater, prison and arsenal. Like many historical structures, it was badly destroyed during the 1755 earthquake.
The castle is now hosting an excellent multimedia exhibition about the biggest events in the history of Lisbon.
- Address: 1100-129 Lisboa, Portugal
- Telephone:+351 218 800 620
- Email: [email protected]
- Visit cost: $6,17
The Castle of St. George sits right on top of the highest of the seven hills in Alfama, above the old Moorish quarter. The castle is clearly visible from afar. It is famous for its panoramic views of the city and the surrounding area of the capital. For can be seen Atlantic Ocean, and on clear days, and are visible in the distance.
Portuguese castle stories
The oldest parts of the fortress buildings date back to the 6th century, when it was founded by the Romans, then completed by the Visigoths, and later by the Moors. The castle served as the seat of the Moorish kings until 1147, when it was conquered by Afonso Henriques, the first king, with the active participation of the British Crusader Knights in the Second Christian Crusade. In honor of St. George, the patron saint of England, the castle was named. The palace became the seat of the kings of Portugal and served this function until the construction of the Ribeira Palace in the 16th century. One of the chambers of the palace was reserved for Vasco da Gama during his stay in Lisbon after returning from sea voyages.
After the transfer of Portugal to the rule of the Crown of Spain in 1580, the fortress of St. George in Lisbon acquired a military-defensive character, which was maintained until the beginning of the 20th century. After the earthquake in 1755, many new structures appeared on the site of the old ruins. The restoration work carried out in 1938-40 reopened the fortress and the remains of the old royal palace.
Castle of Saint George today
The castle complex, surrounded by a citadel, consists of the castle itself, the royal palace and several other buildings, gardens and a terrace square. The main entrance to the citadel (19th century gate) leads to the main square (Praça d "Armas), which is decorated with old cannons and a bronze statue of Afonso Henriques. The medieval Moorish castle with its 10 towers is located on the very high point hill. A wall with a tower and a connecting door divides the castle courtyard in half, while staircases allow visitors to reach a path on the wall and towers for a magnificent view of Lisbon. A long fortified wall on the western side of the hill slopes downward, ending at the Torre de Curasa tower.
Open to the public 7 days a week, the Castle of St. George is now the most popular tourist destination in Lisbon, where you can visit:
Features of the visit
Opening hours of the Castle of St. George in Lisbon.