Silves Castle

Silves Castle

A castle of red stone

In the green hills of the Algarve, Portugal's sunny southern coast, the town of Silves climbs a hillside above a quiet river. Crowning the town is its castle — and it is unlike any other in the country, for its great walls and towers are built of warm red sandstone that glows almost orange in the southern sun. This is the finest and best-preserved Moorish castle in Portugal, a proud reminder of the days when Silves was one of the most splendid cities in the land.

The jewel of the Moorish Algarve

For more than 500 years, the Algarve was ruled by Muslims, and Silves — which they called Xelb — was its dazzling capital. Travellers of the time wrote of a beautiful, wealthy city of poets and scholars, with fine houses, gardens and bustling markets, all protected by the mighty red citadel on the hill.

Within the castle walls stood palaces and, most importantly, the means to survive a siege: huge cisterns and a deep well cut into the rock to store and reach water. These remarkable water-works, including a great vaulted cistern, still survive beneath the castle today, cool and dark, a marvel of Moorish engineering.

A hard-fought conquest

Because Silves was such a rich prize, the Christian conquest of the city was long and bloody. It was first captured in 1189 by Portuguese forces helped by a fleet of passing crusaders, after a fierce siege — but the Moors won it back a few years later. Only in the 1240s was Silves finally and firmly taken for the Kingdom of Portugal.

After the conquest, the city slowly lost its old splendour. The river that had once carried ships to its quays gradually silted up, and the glory of Xelb faded into memory. But the great red castle remained, watching over the town through the quiet centuries that followed.

A town of oranges and stories

Today Silves is a peaceful country town, famous for its orange groves and for a lively medieval fair held each summer, when the streets fill with knights, market stalls and music in the shadow of the castle. The town also remembers the great Moorish poet-king Al-Mu'tamid, who was born here, and stories of the rich Islamic past colour everything about the place.

Restored and protected

The castle is a national monument, its red walls and towers restored, its remarkable cisterns and well preserved, and its grounds laid out as pleasant gardens. It is one of the most visited sights in the Algarve away from the beaches.

Visiting today

Visitors who climb to Silves Castle can walk the red sandstone ramparts, explore the great underground cistern, and gaze out over the orange groves and the river valley below. Down in the town, an old cathedral, a medieval bridge and the summer fair carry on the memory of the once-glorious city of Xelb. Glowing red on its hill, Silves Castle is the proudest survivor of the Moorish Algarve.