Algarve Portugal Monuments Paderne Castle Albufeira

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Algarve Travel Tour Guide Presents: Culture, National Monuments and History of Algarve, Portugal.
Monuments to visit near Querença

Paderne Castle (open to the public)

Castle Paderne in the Algarve, located in the city and parish of the same name, Municipality of Albufeira, Distrito de Faro, Portugal.

It stands in a dominant position on the riverside of Quarteira, about two miles south of the city. One of the seven castles represented on the flag of Portugal, its ruins, reddish in color, is one of the most significant examples of Muslim military architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the landscape as a warning of arrival at the Algarve for anyone who enters the Path of Infante, coming from the A2. The scenic effect is multiplied evening, thanks to lighting installed by the Tourism Region of the Algarve.

History
Background
The castle was built in mud by the Almohads between the eleventh and twelfth century, during the last phase of Muslim occupation of the peninsula, controlling the old Roman road which crossed the river at Quarteira for a bridge to the south east. During this period, the progress of the Christian Reconquista led to the building of a defensive line of fortifications built by midsize and rural character of the region, of which this is one of the best examples.



The medieval castle
The earliest reference about the castle dates back to 1189 when it was conquered in a fierce night assault by the forces of King D Sancho I (1185-1211), with the help of a squadron of English crusaders. This domain, however, was short-lived, as early as 1191, was recovered by the Almohad forces under the command of Caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur.

Your can define for the Portuguese Crown was only under the reign of D. Afonso III (1248-1279) with the conquest by the Master of the Order of Santiago, D. Palo Peres Correia in 1248, starting the repopulation of the region.

Under the reign of D Dinis (1279-1325), the fields of the village and its castle, and the patronage of the church were donated by him to the Order of Avis, in the person of his Master, D. Lourenço Anes. Not enroll, however, in the period, rehabilitation works at the castle, as has occurred with the Alvor Castle  (1300), The Walls of Tavira Castle (1303) or Castro Marim (1303), but only a few buildings inside, as the building of the original chapel, now in ruins.


The fifteenth century to the present day
In the following century, introducing the cycle of the Portuguese discoveries, strategic concerns and economic focus on the back of the kingdom, Paderne losing its importance and its defensive function. Dropped from the sixteenth century, when the town moved to the current site, gradually fell into ruin in the following centuries. The process was exacerbated by the damage caused by the earthquake of 1755 the structure, especially its keep, as recorded by the Parish in 1758.

The ruins of the castle, consisting of some sections of walls, a watchtower and the walls of the chapel in its interior, which opened a cistern, filled, were classified as a Public Interest a decree on 22 November 1971.

The property was purchased by the Ministry of Culture, through IPPAR in September 1997. Since then, this body (the regional Faro) began to work on archaeological exploration (by Helena Maria Gomes Catarino, co-director with Isabel Ignatius and collaboration of Ricardo Teixeira), as part of a broader project wide, rehabilitation and recovery museum.

Features
The castle has a quadrangular shape in plan irregular, organic, occupying an area of about 1,000 m². Besides the typical features of military architecture Almoáda, like mud walls, a watchtower square plan, which amounts to about ten meters to the east, and the port in the elbow angle opposite the tower, its remaining evidence influences the Gothic style and Manueline as the barbican advocating that port.

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