Santa Maria da Feira Castle
| Castle of Feira (Castelo da Feira) | |
| Castle of Santa Maria da Feira | |
| castle (Castelo) | |
 The imposing walls and castle, built on the ancient Roman fortification
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| Official name: Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira | |
| Country |  Portugal |
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| Region | Norte |
| Subregion | Entre Douro e Vouga |
| District | Aveiro |
| Municipality | Santa Maria da Feira |
| Location | Feira |
| - elevation | 174 m (571 ft) |
| - coordinates | 40°55′15.62″N 8°32′33.95″W / 40.9210056°N 8.5427639°WCoordinates: 40°55′15.62″N 8°32′33.95″W / 40.9210056°N 8.5427639°W |
| Length | 123.27 m (404 ft), Northwest-Southwest |
| Width | 51.87 m (170 ft), Southwest-Northeast |
| Architects | Men Guterres, Men Lucídio |
| Style | Medieval |
| Materials | Granite, Limestone, Masonry, Wood |
| Origin | fl. 868 |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| For public | Public |
| Visitation | Closed (Mondays and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December) |
| Easiest access | Largo do Castelo |
| Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |
| Operator | Comissão de Vigilância do Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira |
| Summer | Tuesday to Friday; 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. |
| Winter | Tuesday to Friday; 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. |
| Status | National Monument |
| Listing | Decree No. DG 136, 23 June 1910 |
| Website: http://www.castelodafeira.com | |
The Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is a Portuguese castle in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, district of Aveiro. Emblematic of Portuguese medieval military architecture, the Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is one of the monuments that best reflects the diversity of defenses used during the Middle Ages, having been instrumental in the process of Reconquista and autonomy of the County of Portugal. It has been listed as a National monument since 1910.
Tradition has it that the Castle of Feira stands on the site of an indigenous temple dedicated to the local divinity Bandeve-Lugo Toiraeco, which was later transformed into a Marian temple. Although tombstones and other vestiges encountered in the defensive area confirm the presence of Roman settlement dating back to the early empire, there is no confirmation of the link to other temples. In the vicinity of this site existed the Roman via Olissipo-Bracara Augusta connecting Lisbon and Braga, respectively.
When, in the middle of the 9th century (868), Alfonso III of León created the administrative and military region, that he called Terra de Santa Maria, he laid its defences in the military fortress that existed there, in Civitas Sanctae Mariae. For many years, the fortress functioned as a forward base in the Christian Reconquista from the Arab invasions from the south. Twice in 1000, the armies of Al-Mansur conquered the Castle and destroyed the local population, but they were retaken successively by Christian forces. During the reign of Bermudo III (1028–1037) Arab continued to attempt to capture the Castle, but were defeated definitively in the Battle of Cesár. The governors, Mem Guterres and Mem Lucídio developed a giant project to reconstruct the Castle and develop the lands of the Terra de Santa Maria. The Leonese kings distinguished the population with the Honra de Infanções, an honour at the time only received by the judges, magistrates and councilmen of Lisbon. The first reference to a built structure in this location occurred in the 11th century, in the Chronica Gothorum, identifying the construction of the inferior portion of the keep and fortress. Since 1117, Feira was the location of one of the most important fairs in Portugal, which, over time, gave the town its name. The fair was established in the shadow of the castle.
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Wikipedia