{"id":3856,"date":"2022-05-06T07:57:10","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T07:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/castelodesaojorge.pt\/castle\/national-monument\/the-castelo-de-sao-jorge\/"},"modified":"2022-12-11T01:16:39","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T01:16:39","slug":"the-castelo-de-sao-jorge","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/castelodesaojorge.pt\/en\/castle\/national-monument\/the-castelo-de-sao-jorge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Castelo de S\u00e3o Jorge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A
The Fortification and Castelo de S\u00e3o Jorge \u00a9Kenton Thatcher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Situated at the top of a hill, the Castelo de S\u00e3o Jorge is part of a complex defensive system which was gradually transformed over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the material evidence uncovered during archaeological excavations, little is known of the Iron Age settlement and the Roman period they belong to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Islamic occupation, the city was defended by lines of walls which were positioned on the south side of the hill towards the river. The layout of these walls coincided roughly with the walls of the Roman city of Olisipo (Lisbon), Within these walls was the medina<\/em> or city and a line of walls encircling the hilltop where the citadel (kasbah) was located, with its the great residential centre of religious, political, military administrative and social power.kasbah<\/em>) was located, with its the great residential centre of religious, political, military administrative and social power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was here that the medieval castle we know today was erected in the period following the reconquest of Lisbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not know, however, what the fortification and citadel would have looked like during the period of Islamic rule or at the time of the first Christian kings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appearance of the castle as it looks today (bearing characteristics attributable to \u201cthe gothic castle\u201d) is the result of changes occurring during the reign of King Afonso III (1248-1279) and\/or King Denis (1279-1325): a walled quadrangular perimeter, fortified by 11 towers and divided into two places-of-arms; wide wall-walks; the keep (which has not survived, but which was probably over the gateway and attached to the wall); the barbican (a lower advanced wall built thicker at its base) in the eastern and southern areas, which was intended to defend the fortress’s most vulnerable points; and a moat and Albarrana towers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the western wall and the southern wall meet, there is a section of wall that goes down the slope, at the top of which stands the Torre de S\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o (St. Lawrence\u2019s Tower), associated with a city gate that has now disappeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This section of wall, as well as the one that delimits the northern part of the Pra\u00e7a Nova (New Square), are part of later modifications (dating from 1373) instigated by King Ferdinand for the defence of the city. The objective of this largescale project was to provide the city of Lisbon (which had expanded to the west and north) with a new and wider ring of walls to protect it. This fence, in memory of the monarch who built it, is now known as the Fernandine Wall (Cerca Fernandina).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gateways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The castle has three gateways along its walled perimeter, which provide access to the interior of the castle. Other gateways, located inside the fortification, allow access to the first and second places-of arms inside the castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n