Castle of Santa Maria da Feira

This is one of the most complete medieval monuments in the country. It is a fairytale castle on a hill in the city of Santa Maria da Feira, built in the 11th century, redesigned in the 15th century, and one of the few that has been carefully restored in recent decades.
By Jorge Toth

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      Tradition says that Castelo da Feira stands on the site of an indigenous temple dedicated to the god Bandeveluco-Toiraeco. Also referred to as Santa Maria da Feira Castle and Santa Maria Castle, it is located just over half an hour from Aveiro and 25 minutes from Porto, in the parish and city of Feira, Santa Maria da Feira, Aveiro district, in Portugal. It is one of the most notable monuments in the country as to how it mirrors the diversity of defensive resources used between the 11th and 16th centuries and that makes it a unique piece of Portuguese military architecture.

      In the middle of the 9th century, Afonso III de Leão created the administrative and military region to which he gave the name Terra de Santa Maria, his leadership was handed over to an existing military fortress, Cívitas Sanctae Mariae .

      For many years the fortress functioned as an advanced base for the Christian reconquest troops and as a sentinel against Arab invasions from the south. Twice, in the year 1000, Almansor, the legendary Arab warrior, conquered the Castle and razed the attached village. And twice, too, the Christian warriors and inhabitants regained the fortress, rebuilt the settlement and kept it the name of Civitas Sanctae Mariae . This attests well to the courage and firmness of the religious convictions of the time.

      In the reign of Bermudo III de Leão (1028 to 1037) the Arab warriors invaded again, but were rejected in the battle of Cesar, a village located near the Castle, which still bears this name today. The first documentary reference to its fortification is contained in the manuscript “Chronica Gothorum” - from the end of the 12th century -, which reports the victory over a Moorish chief. The construction of the lower part of the keep, which had the function of an alcove, protected by a walled fence, of which only the remains remain, dates from that time.

      The governors of the time, Men Guterres and Men Lucídio then developed a gigantic work for the reconstruction of the Castle and the development of the Land of Santa Maria. For this reason, the Leonese kings distinguished a large part of the population with special mercies: the Honor of Infanções , to assess the importance of this title, it is enough to remember that only in the 14th century did the city’s judges, brigadiers, corregidors and councilors obtain an identical privilege of Lisbon.

      When D. Henrique (1095-1112) received the lands of the County, these included the Castle of Santa Maria, the Castle of Guimarães, the Castle of Faria and the Castle of Neiva. From 1117 on, one of the most important fairs in Portugal developed on the site, which, over time, gave the same name to the town that was born in the shadow of the castle. With the death of the Count, before Fernão Peres de Trava's ancestry over the widow, D. Teresa de Leão, the lords south of the river Minho, dissatisfied, organized themselves around the young D. Afonso Henriques. The story goes that much of this political articulation took place in the lands and Castelo de Santa Maria, under the domain of Ermígio Moniz, culminating in the battle of São Mamede (1128), which is why this monument is said to be the real cradle of the independence of Portugal. At the time, the lands of Santa Maria comprised a domain that extended from the Douro River to the south of Ovar and Oliveira de Azeméis, and from the seafront to the course of the Arda River.

      In the royal letter of April 10, 1423, which attributed these favors, it expressly refers to the attempt to equate the infantry in the Land of Santa Maria . From the old Roman fort, and later expanded fortress at the time of the Christian reconquest, only the first floor of the keep remains.

      After 1448, King D. Afonso V handed it over to Fernão Pereira, who then undertook some repair and reconstruction works, transforming it into a palatial residence. Works of essential architectural character, which it still presents today, with adaptations to new rules of ballistics and the Keep, dominating the alcove, with its shot of conical spiers and its tenil as a novelty of defensive reinforcement. Another smaller tower, on the east side, forms a well with a well-rounded staircase.On January 12, 1472, the King appointed Rui Vaz Pereira, son of Fernão, as 1st count of Feira, lord of the Castle and of the Land of Santa Maria. With the death without descendants of the last count (1700), the Castle passed to the Infantado's house (1708).

      In 1722 the Palace of the Counts, built inside the walls, and the Tower of Menagem suffered a very violent fire - as it is said by order of King D. João V himself - afraid of the ambitions of his brother, the Infante D. Francisco. With the decline in the military importance of the Castle, it was adapted to a stately home.

      The municipality started works for its reconstruction in 1887, however, it was with the visit of D. Manuel II, in 1908, as well as with the creation, in the following year, of a Commission for the Protection and Conservation of the Castle, which they took place. Next to the fence wall, an octagonal chapel with a Baroque style, built in 1656.

DETAILS OF THE CASTLE OF SANTA MARIA DA FEIRA

• Village Gate and Barbican

      The entrance to the castle is through the so-called “village gate” protected by a barbican. This entrance leads to the “advanced fence” or “square of arms” that leads, on the north side, to the Torre de Menagem.

• Plaza de Armas

      This large interior space, surrounded by the so-called “way of the round” or adarve is protected by a strong battlements and trunks.

• Keep

      This tower, with a large roof terrace, consists of two floors. Large fireplaces reveal the residential character that the Castle had.

• Well Tower

      Next to the Torre de Menagem, on the east side, is the “tower of the well” which is a construction of the century. XV all in granite and with 8 closed windows, forming niches, with access from the outside with 136 steps. The well is 33.5 meters deep and has its own spring.

• Tenalha

      Through a covered passage protected by embrasures, one arrives at the tenalha which is a small work of fortification to protect the keep, on the south side. The form of its construction assumes the use of firearms.

• Tower of the Pillbox

      On the west side this defensive enclosure was set up, on the ground level, with bombers and bullshit effectively arranged to ensure shooting in all directions.

• Chapel

      Next to the barbican there is an interesting set consisting of a hexagonal chapel and the chaplain's house, built in 1656. This chapel replaced a very old chapel, meanwhile demolished. From the old chapel, a precious nucleus of images of dwarf stone transited to the current chapel.

      Between 1992 and 2006, archaeological studies and important restoration and conservation works were carried out, in a partnership between the Monitoring Commission of the Santa Maria da Feira Castle and the former IPPAR. We highlight the rehabilitation of the Chapel and the Torre de Menagem, prepared to receive conferences, meetings, musical shows, exhibitions and other events.

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sources: lisbonlux.com, eurodicas.com.br and www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt