CASTLE OF ST. JORGE

St. George's Castle

Location - District: Lisbon; Municipality: Lisbon

Status: Classified since 1910 as National Monument

Time of existence of the Castle

St. George's Castle

6th century BC to 7th century - The first occupations

The primitive human presence in the area dates back to the Iron Age.

Archaeological research has documented its occupation by Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians.

This city was later occupied by the Romans during the period of the conquest of Hispania by the Roman legions. It will date from the year 48 BC, the construction of the first fortification, in which Olisipo (the name of Lisbon at the time) was granted the category of Roman municipality, which allowed its inhabitants to become Roman citizens.

Later, with the invasions of barbarian peoples, to which Hispania did not escape, the city was conquered by the Suevi in the mid 5th century, and a few years later by the Visigoths.

Map of Portugal

VIII to XI century - The foundation of the castle

In the 8th century, it fell under Muslim rule and became Al-Ushbuna or Lissabona.

The descriptions of its geographers refer to the existence of the fortification with its walls, which defended the "quasabah" (citadel), the centre of the political and military power of the city.

The Muslim construction of the castle and walls, as well as the Moorish Fence, probably dates back to the 10th century.

This fortification was the last redoubt of defence for the elites who lived in the citadel: the Moorish alcaide, whose palace was nearby, and the elites of the city administration, whose houses are still visible today in the Castelo Archaeological Site.

The Medieval Castle

O St. Jorge's Castle rises in a strategic and dominant position on the highest hill in the historic center of the current city of Lisbon, providing those who find themselves in it one of the most comprehensive views over the city and the Tagus River estuary.

XII century - The conquest of the castle

In the context of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, after the conquest of Santarem, the forces of King Afonso Henriques (1112-1185) - with the help of Norman, Flemish, German and English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land - attacked this Muslim fortification.

The conquest became famous in the annals of history for the length of the siege (more than three hard months), and the castle capitulated in 1147, as is narrated in the manuscript "De expugnatione Lyxbonensi", a letter written by an English crusader who took part in the conquest.

St. Jorge's Castle

View of Lisbon and Tagus River in the 16th century - Caravela and Carraca sailing ships in the Portuguese Age of Discoveries.

In the background is St. George's Castle. ("Civitates orbis terrarum", Franz Hogenberg & Georg Braun, 1572)

The legend, which over time arose around the conquest of Lisbon, praises in particular, the prowess of a noble knight of D. Afonso Henriques, Martim Moniz.

The latter, realizing that one of the castle doors was ajar, flanked it, sacrificing his own life by interposing his body in the gap, preventing its closure by the Moors and allowing his companions access and victory.

A few decades later, between 1179 and 1183, the castle successfully resisted the Muslim forces that ravaged the region between Lisbon and Santarem.

13th to 16th century - as Royal Residence and Royal Archives

When Lisbon became the capital of the Kingdom in 1255, King Afonso III (1248-1279) ordered (in 1265) repairs to be made to the palace and governor's house.

St. Jorge's Castle

St. George's Castle - "The Siege of Lisbon

(watercolour by Alfredo Roque Gameiro, in "Quadros da História de Portugal", 1917)

As a result of this intervention, the old fortified buildings from Islamic times were adapted and expanded to accommodate the King, the Court, the Bishop.

Transformed into the Royal Palace by the kings of Portugal in the 13th century, the S. Jorge Castle was the chosen place to receive national and foreign illustrious personages, to hold parties and to acclaim Kings throughout the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

In 1373 began the construction of the wall of D. Fernando (1367-1383), completed two years later. In 1382, in the context of the 3rd Fernandina War, the surroundings of the city were again the target of Castilian onslaughts (as had happened in 1373).

In the course of the crisis of 1383-1385, Lisbon would be severely besieged by the forces of King John I of Castile in 1384.

St. Jorge's Castle

European scribe at work (Jean Miélot, 1454-7)

The Tower of Tombo

It was also during the reign of King Fernando I that the Royal Archives were installed in Castle of S. Jorgethe Royal Archives.

Since the Archive was installed from its inception, between 1378 and 1755 in a tower of São Jorge Castle, called "Torre do Tombo", this name was eventually adopted.

Thus, the Torre do Tombo (one of the oldest institutions of Portugal) was the place where the most important volumes and papers of the Kingdom, the administration of the Kingdom, its vassals, the overseas possessions and the relations of Portugal with other kingdoms were kept.

The name of the Castle

As a gratitude and testimony for his resistance in past battles, D. João I (1385-1433), placed the Castle under the protection of martyr Saint George, patron saint of Crusaders, and it was so named.

The earthquakes that affected the city in 1290, 1344 and in 1356 caused important damage to the Castle.

St. Jorge's Castle

Vasco da Gama presents to D. Manuel the first fruits of India

(National Library of Portugal, c.1900, author unknown)

Court life and the last King in the castle

As the Royal Palace, it was the stage for the reception of Vasco da Gama, after the discovery of the sea route to India, at the end of the 15th century, and the premiere, in the 16th century, of Gil Vicente's "Monologue of the Cowboy", the first Portuguese play, commemorating the birth of King John III (1521-1557).

16th to 19th century - The earthquake of 1755, the War of Restoration

Along with the town, the castle again suffered from the earthquakes of 1531, 1551, 1597 and 1699.

Its history as the Royal Palace ended when it was moved to the Paço da Ribeira in the 16th century.

At the time of the Philippine Dynasty it was garrisoned again, acquires a more military functional character, with the installation of barracks and was also used as a prison.

St. Jorge's Castle

Current plan of the São Jorge Castle (EGEAC, Lisbon)

These factors and the earthquake of 1755 contributed to the decline and degradation of the monument.

It was the headquarters of the Casa Pia between 1780 and 1807, when it was used as headquarters by Jean-Andoche Junot during the Napoleonic Invasions.

In the 19th century, the whole area of the national monument is occupied by barracks. In this way, uncharacterized and, in part, forbidden to the Lisboans, it reached the XX century.

XX and XXI centuries - The Castle, National Monument

Having entered the 20th century in rather poor condition, with the major restoration work carried out in 1938-40 by the Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN), the castle and the remains of the former Royal Palace were rediscovered.

In the midst of the demolitions carried out at the time, the old buildings were rescued, with a large part of the walls being raised and many of the towers being raised.

Already in the late twentieth century, archaeological investigations promoted in various areas contributed, in a unique way, to confirm the antiquity of the occupation of the hilltop and confirm the inestimable historical value that led to the classification of the Castle of S. Jorge as a National Monument, by Royal Decree of 1910.

New interventions were carried out at the end of the 1990s, reinforcing the rehabilitation and accessibility of the monument, followed by new interventions at the beginning of the 21st century (2000 and 2009).

With over two million visitors in 2018, St. George's Castle was the most visited national monument that year, a position it also maintained in 2019.

Having reacquired the grandeur of its former glory, the Castle of S. Jorge is now returned to the enjoyment of citizens, justifying a visit one of these days!

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