Castle of Ouguela

Castle of Ouguela
Castelo de Ouguela
General information
Location	Ouguela
Owner	Portugal

The Castle of Ouguela (Portuguese: Castelo de Ouguela) is a medieval castle erected in the civil parish of São João Baptista, municipality of Campo Maior, in the Portuguese district of Portalegre.

It is classified by IGESPAR as a Site of Public Interest.

Built on an escarpment, the castle dominates the village on the left bank of , near its confluence with the Xévora river. Rebuilt by King Dinis (1279-1325), the castle received bulwark walls during of the reign of King John IV (1640-1656). Its walls resembled the Spanish fortification of Alburquerque. It currently is a member of the Tourism-Promotion Plains Area.

The early occupation of its site dates back to pre-Roman fort. At the time of the Roman invasion and occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, the town was designated under the name Budua. During its occupation by the Visigoths, they called it Niguela. From the eighth century Umuyyad Muslims had the town fortified.

At the time of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, reconquest of the village and its surrounding land was finally achieved 1230, by Castilian and Leonese forces. Years later, May 28, 1255, the good-men of Badajoz county donated Ouguela and elsewhere to the Bishop of Badajoz.

By the Treaty of Alcañices on 12 September, 1297, the domains of Ouguela and its castle transferred to the Crown of Portugal. The following year, King Dinis (1279-1325) in Lisbon on January 5, 1298, aimed at increasing Ouguela's settlement and defense, granted the town a charter with many privileges, with a focus on its defense.

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