Considered the biggest castle in the Algarve region, it was constructed in (ancient city of Xelb) by the Arabs Almoravids on the 11th century and reflects the presence that the Islamic civilization reached in the Algarve region, being the best example of the Islamic military architecture in Portugal.
The region, which has been occupied since the prehistory times, it may be defended by a Visigoth or Roman fortification, but there is no archaeological that proofs, since then the fortress of Silves, seems to have been the first fortification.
In 1189, the King Sancho I, got a first conquest of the castle, with the help of the British and German crusaders, who have made capitulate the square after a long siege. However the Arab attack in 1191, which arrived to the Tejo River, returned Silves in the hands of the Muslims.
Later, with the passage of Silves, for the Portuguese administration around 1250, in the reign of the King Afonso III, were carried out restoration works of the Castle, which has also occurred in the reign of the King Manuel I, in 1500.
With the 1755 earthquake, were caused a lot of damages on the castle, but currently, it is considered one of the best preserved monuments in Portugal, due to the works carried out by the Directorate General of National Buildings and Monuments, in the decades of 30 and 40, with an unobstructed of sections of walls and the reconstruction of some towers that threatened to collapse.
The Castle presents red walls, due to the finish in red sandstone existing in the region and it is situated on a hill top, surrounded by a curtain walls with eleven towers, occupying an area of twelve thousand square meters.
In the inner place, it highlights the restful garden and the food underground deposits, in times Arab silos, with entrance through small openings at the ground level. In the fortress, there are two cisterns, the Moor Cistern, with about ten meters high, whose vault is supported by five arches and columns based on the Dogs Tank, a pit about 60 meters profundity.
The principal door, with access through the Medina, it is guarded by two towers and protected by the guard house. Dug in the wall at north, with outdoor access, there is a hatch called the “door of treason.”
Silves Castle is considered as a national monument, published since June 23, 1910 and is currently the biggest, the most important and the best preserved Castle of the Algarve.
At the entrance of the Castle, there is the statue of the King Sancho I.
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