Barbacena Castle

Portugal, Portugal

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Barbacena Castle, located in Barbacena near Elvas in Portugal's Alentejo region close to the Spanish border, originated from a pre-Roman castro settlement and was definitively reconquered from Moorish control in the 13th century under King Sancho II, with construction likely during Afonso III's reign.

The rectangular medieval fortress, featuring robust defensive walls, circular towers with vaulted interiors and firing slits, rectangular bastions, a central cistern, and later 17th-century star-shaped additions, endured sieges including during the Restoration War—surrendering to Spanish forces in 1658—and the War of the Spanish Succession.

Classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1967, it fell into ruin after repeated conflicts and 19th-century abandonments but retains remnants like walls, a governor's house, chapel vestiges, and an arched gateway amid private ownership changes into the 21st century.