Castle of Aljezur

Aljezur, Portugal, Portugal

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Castle of Aljezur in Aljezur, Portugal, occupies a hilltop site used since the Bronze and Iron Ages, with the current fortress founded by Arabs in the 10th century as part of Silves' defensive network and expanded in the 12th-13th centuries under Almohad rule, featuring stone walls, a cistern, silos, and residential structures.

Conquered from the Moors around 1249 by Paio Peres Correia during King Afonso III's reign and granted a charter by King Dinis in 1280, it later lost strategic value by the 16th century due to river silting, suffering major damage in the 1755 earthquake before 20th-century partial restorations classified it as a Property of Public Interest.

Its irregular polygonal enclosure includes two towers—a circular northern guard tower and a quadrangular one—overlooking the Ribeira de Aljezur valley and coast, with ruins evoking centuries of layered occupation.