Castelo de Castelo Novo

Portugal, Portugal

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Castelo de Castelo Novo is a medieval fortress in the village of Castelo Novo, Fundão municipality, Castelo Branco district, central Portugal, perched at 640-650 meters on Serra da Gardunha amid prehistoric, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman settlement remnants.

Likely constructed around 1208 by the Knights Templar under Sancho I, as referenced in Pedro Guterres' 1221 will and Lardosa foral, it received Gothic reinforcements from King Dinis in the late 14th century, including adarves and ameias, before late 14th-century destruction and 15th-century reconstruction with residential upgrades.

Its irregular longitudinal layout features granite walls with eastern and western straight-lintelled gates, a protruding western cubelo, well-preserved western merlons and walkways, and a tall keep tower cut from rock with gárgulas, Manueline enhancements in 1510 under Manuel I, and a sineira tower by João III's era. 

Classified for public interest, it anchors the historic village's narrow streets, pelourinho, and João V fountain, now a conserved viewpoint.