Fortress Juromenha

Portugal, Portugal

---

Fortress Juromenha in Juromenha, Portugal, on the Guadiana River's right bank near the Spanish border, originated as a 9th-century Islamic stronghold defending Badajoz under the Caliphate of Córdoba, first conquered by Afonso Henriques in 1167 but retaken by Moors until D. Dinis's definitive 1242 reconquest and 1312 reconstruction.

Adapted in the 17th century for artillery by engineer Nicolau de Langres into a star-shaped bastioned polygon with double ramparts, inner keep, churches, jail, cistern, and town hall, it endured Spanish occupations (1662-1668 Restoration War, 1801-1808 Peninsular War) and 1755 earthquake damage before abandonment in 1920.

Extensively restored 1950-1996 with excavations revealing Roman-Visigothic-Islamic layers, its layered ruins showcase a millennium of frontier warfare amid Alqueva's Dark Sky views.