Portugal Monsaraz Medieval middle ages Castle
Portugal Monsaraz Mediaeval In 1157 Geraldo Sem Pavor defeated the Moors conquering Monsaraz, the village fell again under moorish power following the defeat of the Portuguese king D. Afonso Heriques in Badajoz. This prized fortification was finally conquered by king D. Sancho II with the help of the Templars in 1232, after which the king gave the town the knights in order to thank them and establish a Templar garrison that would protect this border. The Christian repopulation of Monsaraz ends only in reign of D. Afonso III when it gets it’s first Christian Alcaide, the knight Martim Anes, and first letter of foral. In 1263 it’s already an important fortress, being head of a municipality with large privileges. The local economy was fundamentally based on agriculture and livestock, existing some small industries of terra cotta and hammered copper. In 1319 there is established at Monsaraz a branch of the Order of Christ in direct dependence of that of Castro Marim. During the same period, the reign of D. Dinis, starts the building of the gothic stile courthouse and of the castles sighting tower. Nuno Álvares Pereira, in 1412, donates Monsaraz to his grandson, D. Fernando, becoming one of the most prized possessions of the House of Brangança. The demographic crises created by the plague, forced the Duke of Bragança, in 1527, to carry out a small land reform in order to promote the settling of farmers in Monsaraz. The small property plots thus created can still today be seen in the area surrounding this village. The economical and demographic development of the nearby village of Reguengos de Monsaraz, due to its rich vineyards and prosperous handcraft industries, made it the most important town in the Monsaraz municipally. And in 1840 the head of the municipality was transferred there.
Size: 3543px × 5469px
Location: Portugal
Photo credit: © Peter Horree / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ages, alentejo, ancient, attraction, battle, battlements, castle, culture, defend, defense, fort, fortress, heritage, historic, knight, knights, medieval, middle, monsaraz, portugal, portugese, romance, romantic, ruins, soldiers, stonework, stronghold, tourist, tower, travel, traveler, wall, walls, war, work
