Mythen und Legenden | Die Burg von SINTRA | CASTELO DOS MOUROS | Burgen PORTUGAL

The castle of Sintra, also known as Castello dos Mouros, is an extremely powerful structure. It lies on top of the Sintra Mountains and offers an overwhelming view of the region from its walls all the way to the Atlantic. The castle is huge. It has an area of ​​12,000 m2 and a circumference of 450 m. Its irregular floor plan is adapted to the terrain. It has five towers, of which four are rectangular and one is round. Originally they were higher than today. Noteworthy is also the large cistern from Islamic times. It is 18 m long, 6 m wide and 9 m high. This is also where the source that supplies the National Palace of Sintra with water originates. In the 8th century, the Moors conquered the area and their population received the name Al-Shantara. The first castle was probably built between the 8th and 9th centuries. Its purpose was to control the roads to Mafra, Kashkais and Lissabon. After times of instability and civil war between 1001 and 1031, the Caliphate of Cordoba collapsed and smaller Muslim princely tombs were created. In 1093, the Emir of one of these princely tombs, that of the Taifa of Barados, decided to give the territories of Sintra, Santarém and Lissabon to King Alfonso IV of Leon to create a defensive alliance against the Almoravids. But the Christian ruler was busy defending his own territory and so the Almoravids conquered the area a year later. It should take more than 50 years before Alfonso I of Portugal could conquer Lissabon and Sintra fell into Christian hands. There is a legend about the conquest of the castle. It says that the king, out of fear of an attack by the Moors, sent the temple knight Gil with 20 men on a secret mission to Sintra. The crusaders traveled at night and hid during the day. On the way, the virgin Mary appeared to them, who gave them courage against the Moorish superpowers. This gave the knights the power to defeat the enemy and conquer the Castelo dos Muros. So far the legend. In fact, the castle was voluntarily given up by the Moors after the fall of Sintra. But apparently the king needed new heroes. Whatever the case, 30 men were posted on the castle, who should ensure security in the region. In 1154 he lost the city rights and gave Sintra the church São Pedro de Penaverim. The castle was fortified and expanded under his son Sancho I. But it was hardly used later. And so the complex fell over the centuries. The lightning in the mountain peace in 1636 and the earthquake of Lisbon in 1755 certainly contributed to their share. In the course of Romanticism, the castle was completely renovated in the middle of the 19th century on behalf of Fernando II. The cultural landscape of Sintra, to which the Castelo dos Muros also belongs, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.