Almourol Castle

Almourol Castle

A castle on an island

Imagine a castle that sits not on a hill or a cliff, but alone on a little rocky island in the middle of a wide, flowing river, reached only by boat. That is Almourol. Its towers and battlements rise straight from a craggy islet in the river Tagus, in central Portugal, surrounded by green water on every side. With its perfect shape and lonely setting, it looks exactly like the kind of castle that ought to have a dragon, a hidden treasure or an enchanted princess — and indeed, many legends have grown up around it.

The warrior monks

The story of Almourol belongs to the Knights Templar, one of the most famous groups of warriors in all of history. The Templars were monks who were also soldiers, sworn to protect Christian lands and travellers. In Portugal they played a huge part in winning land from the Moors and guarding the new kingdom's frontiers.

In 1171 the great Portuguese master of the Templars, Gualdim Pais, rebuilt the castle on this island to help defend the river crossing and the lands nearby. He left an inscription carved in stone recording the work — a message reaching out to us across more than 800 years. The castle has a tall central keep, ringed by walls and round towers, all packed onto the small rock.

Guarding the river

In the Middle Ages a river like the Tagus was a kind of highway, and an island fortress in the middle of it could watch over everyone passing up and down. Almourol guarded this stretch of the frontier during the long wars between Christians and Moors. Once that frontier moved safely to the south, however, the castle was no longer needed for war. It was slowly abandoned and left to the wind, the water and the birds.

A castle of legends

Perhaps because it looks so magical, Almourol became famous in old Portuguese tales of chivalry — stories of brave knights, fair maidens and noble quests. Writers set adventures here, and over the centuries people invented legends of a Moorish princess and her forbidden love, and of ghostly figures seen among the towers on moonlit nights. None of these stories is true history, but they show just how strongly the lonely island castle has captured people's imaginations.

Rescued and admired

By the 1800s, in the great age of Romanticism when people fell in love with old ruins, Almourol was rediscovered and admired all over again. It was repaired and protected, and today it is one of the best-loved castles in Portugal, often photographed at dawn or sunset when its reflection shimmers in the river.

Visiting today

To reach Almourol, visitors take a short boat ride across the Tagus to the island — an adventure in itself. Once ashore, they can climb the keep and walk the walls, with the river flowing all around and the green countryside stretching away on both banks. Standing on that little rock in the middle of the water, it is easy to feel the romance of the warrior monks who built it, and to understand why Almourol has inspired so many stories of knights and quests.