Castelo de Montemor-o-Velho

Between Coimbra and the sea, the long castle of Montemor-o-Velho runs along its hill above the Mondego rice fields — for centuries the strongest fortress of the lower river, guarding the road between the old capital and the Atlantic.

The shield of Coimbra

The site was fortified in the Moorish period and passed to Christian hands with the conquest of Coimbra in 1064. Rebuilt around 1109 under Countess Teresa and the young Afonso Henriques, it became one of the best-garrisoned strongholds of the early kingdom, covering the coast road and the river plain while the frontier still ran to the south. The walls and towers that walk the hill today carry that long military story, from Reconquista to the crises of the fourteenth century.

Walls over the rice fields

The castle’s two enclosures run for hundreds of metres, and the walk along the battlements gives one of the widest views of the Baixo Mondego — the river, the rice paddies and the coast beyond. The town below keeps its quiet streets, and Conímbriga‘s Roman ruins lie a short drive west.

What to see

• The long double enclosure of the castle
• The battlement walk over the Mondego plain
• The rice fields and the river below
• The keep and inner wards
• The Roman ruins of Conímbriga nearby

Practical information

The castle stands above the town of Montemor-o-Velho, in the Coimbra district, about twenty minutes west of Coimbra by road. The wall walk is exposed — sun in summer, wind in winter; wear comfortable shoes and carry water.

Image credit: Castelo de Montemor-o-Velho by Vitor Oliveira — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.