Top 3 Castles around São Bento Do Cortiço

One of the arts that you shouldn't miss when visiting Estremoz is the Production of Clay Figures from Estremoz, which has been part of the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2014 and has been a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 07-12-2017. This city is also home to the Cavalry Regiment No. 3, which, with its soldiers, has brought a lot of activity to a small city in the Alentejo countryside over the years.

partial view of Estremoz castle

The 27-meter-high keep, the Torre das Três Coroas (Tower of the Three Crowns), is so named because it was apparently built by three kings: Sancho II, Afonso III, and Dinis. It dominates the historic city center and offers breathtaking views. You can climb the tower, even though it belongs to the pousada—just ask nicely.

The pousada is a castle built by King Dionysius for Queen Elizabeth of Portugal in the 13th century. It is located in the heart of the old town and is considered one of the most beautiful pousadas in Portugal.

The view of the castle from the west is particularly impressive. There you can clearly see the fortress character with its protruding walls.

Unfortunately, access to the viewing platform and the statue will be closed in May 2025.

Queen Saint Isabel of Aragon (1270-1336), wife of King D. Diniz (1261-1325), died in the Castle of Estremoz, at the age of 66, on July 4, 1336, from a sudden illness that occurred while she was heading to the border on a mission to bring peace between her son, D. Afonso IV (1291-1357), and her grandson, Alfonso XI of Castile (1311-1350). Against everyone's advice, D. Afonso wanted to fulfill his mother's purpose of being buried in the Monastery of Santa Clara. The long journey took place under the blazing July sun and, to everyone's amazement, despite the intense heat, the coffin gave off such a pleasant perfume that "no one had ever seen such a noble odour", as can be read in her first anonymous biography, known as “Legend or Relation”, written immediately after her death by someone who had been close to her, probably her confessor, Friar Salvado Martins, Bishop of Lamego, or one of the owners of Santa Clara who looked after her during her widowhood. The virtues of the Queen, later considered a Saint, were the reason for her beatification by Leo X (1475-1521) in 1516, with authorisation for her worship to be restricted to the Diocese of Coimbra. In 1556, Pope Paul IV (1476-1559) extended the Elizabethan devotion to the entire Kingdom of Portugal. It would be Pope Urban VIII (1568-1664), given the incorruption of the body and the report of miracles, who would proclaim in 1625, the canonization of Isabella of Aragon as a Holy Queen.

The Estremoz Castle was built in a dominant position on a hill to the north of the Serra de Ossa, in the city of Estremoz, in the district of Évora, in Alentejo, Portugal. It is a pentagonal castle with a walled enclosure, reinforced by buttresses that rise around the Torre de Menagem, a spectacular tower built in white marble, 27 metres high. It is believed that the construction of this monumental tower lasted through three reigns: D. Afonso IV, D. Pedro and D. Fernando, and, for this reason, it is known as the Torre das Três Coroas. Beyond the medieval wall, the town of Estremoz has a vast expanse of fortifications from the epic Restoration War, where the towers with battlements and two arched gates stand out, next to which there is a rectangular tower in the Roman-Gothic style, with several windows.