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I
don't know a terrific amount about this abandoned castle but it is located slap bang on the Guadiana River along which the border with Spain runs. This means it was part of the defensive chain created to deter incursions into Portugal by the Spanish. Having said that there has been a fortification on the site for many a year before Napolean decided he wanted Portugal.
And so (with the help of Pikiwedia)...
The occupation of the site dates back to the Gallo-Celts and then the Romans. Later it was occupied by the Muslim Moors after their invasion of the Iberian peninsula. At the time of the Christian reconquest it remained for two centuries as an outpost for the defense of the important city of Badajoz just over the current border in Spain, which had previously been part of the Muslim Caliphate of Cordoba ever since the 10th. Century.
The town and its castle were taken back from the Moors in 1167 by the troops of King Don Alphonso Henriques and Geraldo Sem Pavor. As a reward, the sovereign appointed Geraldo as mayor of the town. Caliph Iacube Almancor captured the castle and town again in 1191 and then Portuguese forces, under the command of Don Paio Peres Correia, took it back from the Moors again in 1242.
In 1312 King Dinis paid for important reinforcements and improvements to the castle and it's outlying defenses. This was rather radical work too as the walls, previously built only of mud brick, were covered in granite and slate and 16 quadrangular towers were added together with a keep some 44 metres high. It was further reinforced and expanded at the time of the War of Restoration (1640 - 1658) when Portugal gained independence from Spain. Faced with imminent Spanish invasion, a complete rethink of Portugal's border fortifications was required so the many obsolete medieval structures along the border were heavily modified to withstand the rapidly emerging threat of powerful artillery.
Three different plans for modernizing Juromenha Castle were presented to the War Council of King Don Joao IV in 1644 by variously, an Italian military engineer/architect; a Dutch Jesuit Commander; and a French engineer/architect. Despite the high cost of his proposals the Jesuit Dutchman got the job however for some reason unknown to me he failed to complete the work, and so the French engineer, Nicolau de Langres, took over in 1646. But in 1659 whilst the work was still underway disaster struck. A fire near the ammunition magazine caused the gunpowder stored there to explode. A large part of the still on going work was destroyed and the old Municipal Palace also went up in the explosion. Worst of all a hundred men from the garrison, who were actually students from the University of Évora (a form of National Service perhaps?) and the three masters who captained them, all lost their lives.
Now the story takes a rather perverse twist... in 1662 the same French engineer Nicolau de Langres, signed up for the Spanish army and then he personally commanded the siege artillery train brought up to capture the fortress he had so recently built!
The castle and town remained in Spanish hands until The Treaty of Lisbon (13th. February, 1668), when it was finally returned to the Portuguese. Given the physical location of Juromenha - it is built on a virtually vertical cliff on the Portuguese side of the Guadiana River, the Spanish weren't really giving much up as it must have been a bit of a b*gger to hold onto given it is on the Portuguese side of a deep river and thus completely cut off from Spain inside Portuguese territory!
On November 1st. 1755, Portugal suffered a humongous earthquake which destroyed most of the city of Lisbon, a large part of the Algarve and swathes of the Setúbal coastline. The quake was followed by a 20 metre sunami, and multiple fires. The death toll is believed to have been well in excess of 10,000. One of the deadliest earthquakes in history it is estimated to have reached between 8.7 and 9 on the Richter Scale. As you might expect the castle suffered severe damage so repair work together with further modernisation and improvements were carried out and a new bastion was added to the river side to defend the anchorage down below at the water's edge.
When Napoleon Bonaparte began his campaign of expansion into the Iberian Peninsula the fortress was handed over without so much as a shot being fired to Spanish troops during the so-called War of The Oranges, a brief conflict in 1801 in which the Spanish forces, encouraged by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French military, invaded Portugal. It was a precursor to the Peninsula War proper. The fortress was eventually recovered in 1808 by The Duke of Wellington commanding British and Portuguese soldiers.
But now began it's rapid decline. Fortresses were becoming incredibly vulnerable to the effects of rapidly evolving artillery which was not only growing in calibre, but also in it's destructive ability with the appearance of Picric Acid, a new and far more potent high explosive, and L'obus Torpille - basically torpedo shaped shells which are now the norm, developed by the French and intended for deep penetration into earthworks and masonry fortifications. Indeed the panicky, exponential evolution of fortification construction due to the artillery "arms race" of the mid 1800s right up to 1917 in World War 1 can be readily observed in the photographs in my postings on Verdun in this forum from some years ago. Thick conventional walls were out, replaced instead by structures built of reinforced concrete then buried under layers of sand, concrete and yet more sand - only heavily armoured steel turrets were present on the surface. Masonry forts like Juromenha, with relatively thin vertical stone walls, were rendered a complete waste of time, so it was eventually completely abandoned in 1920. In 1950 the government allocated funds to preserve the castle and consolidation work continued until 1996 after which nobody quite knew what to do with it. A proposal was made for the construction of a hotel within the walls however that did not happen, and we have heard nothing of this plan ever since until a recent announcement that 5 million Euros will be allocated to ensure that it does not collapse any further and subsequently part of the interior of the fortress may be sold on in order to facilitate the hotel idea.
Personally I'll believe it when it happens!
Characteristics of the fortress...
It is a mixed fortification with elements of the medieval castle it once was still readily apparent, most noticeably the keep. But the Vauban era polygonal plan dominates. There are two belts of walls, and within the internal wall there is the old keep. The external walls are typical of the Vauban system with curtains, ravelins, dry moats and multiple embrasures. The main church and the smaller Misericórdia church were built within the walls, as well as the old Town Hall and a jail. A rectangular cistern supplied water to the garrison.
Today the fortress is in various states of decay from the totally collapsed to the really still very functional! There is no admission fee, no caretakers, and access is completely unrestricted. It is also quite lethal in places as I can attest after my ascent of the bell tower in one of the two churches - I eventually got to the bell, which is still there, but I didn't have much help on the way in the form of floors!
So is it actually an urbex per se?
I don't know - but it is a super little explore and well worth the effort of finding it on the map then making the journey!
Steep sided walls constructed in the Vauban style.
There is a modern wooden gate and a Portuguese flag is flying from the keep roof. But there was not a soul in sight apart from a lady who opens her ice cream van shutter as you walk out!
The medieval keep is on the left and what was presumably the town hall and jail is directly ahead...
Here we can see the medieval keep and part of the Vauban era polygonal construction defensive walls...
A guard post on the end of the wall overlooks the Guadiana River far below. Across the river is Spain...
Looking back towards the wall and the guard post through the gap where a ravelin meets the wall. The purpose of the wedge shaped ravelin, a classic Vauban feature, was to funnel approaching enemy troops into killing zones beneath the walls...
The smaller of the two churches located within the fortress...
Approaching where we think the alter originally stood within the church...
Detail of the ceiling decoration within the church...
Going upstairs in the town hall...
Although the floors are missing flag stones, presumably pilfered, the room is otherwise quite water tight...
Looking down at the river through a defensive fire point. Note the diagonal nature of the opening on the inside which allowed the marksman to achieve a greater degree of L-R aim without increasing the size of the opening such that he would be at risk from returning fire...
The medieval keep, the town hall and both churches can be seen here...
Looking down at the outer walls from the top of the inner wall. The River Guadiana appears to have another water course entering it from the left at this point. This is probably the access to the river from the mooring mentioned above...
The second, larger church built within the fortress is directly ahead...
The view down the knave. Again the flag stones appear to have been stolen...
The font?
I'm not at all sure what this is frankly!
The view from part way up the church's bell tower...
Bong etc...
The medieval keep has a staircase ascending one of the exterior walls...
Up on top of the medieval keep...
...and it's a lonnnng way down too!
And so (with the help of Pikiwedia)...
The occupation of the site dates back to the Gallo-Celts and then the Romans. Later it was occupied by the Muslim Moors after their invasion of the Iberian peninsula. At the time of the Christian reconquest it remained for two centuries as an outpost for the defense of the important city of Badajoz just over the current border in Spain, which had previously been part of the Muslim Caliphate of Cordoba ever since the 10th. Century.
The town and its castle were taken back from the Moors in 1167 by the troops of King Don Alphonso Henriques and Geraldo Sem Pavor. As a reward, the sovereign appointed Geraldo as mayor of the town. Caliph Iacube Almancor captured the castle and town again in 1191 and then Portuguese forces, under the command of Don Paio Peres Correia, took it back from the Moors again in 1242.
In 1312 King Dinis paid for important reinforcements and improvements to the castle and it's outlying defenses. This was rather radical work too as the walls, previously built only of mud brick, were covered in granite and slate and 16 quadrangular towers were added together with a keep some 44 metres high. It was further reinforced and expanded at the time of the War of Restoration (1640 - 1658) when Portugal gained independence from Spain. Faced with imminent Spanish invasion, a complete rethink of Portugal's border fortifications was required so the many obsolete medieval structures along the border were heavily modified to withstand the rapidly emerging threat of powerful artillery.
Three different plans for modernizing Juromenha Castle were presented to the War Council of King Don Joao IV in 1644 by variously, an Italian military engineer/architect; a Dutch Jesuit Commander; and a French engineer/architect. Despite the high cost of his proposals the Jesuit Dutchman got the job however for some reason unknown to me he failed to complete the work, and so the French engineer, Nicolau de Langres, took over in 1646. But in 1659 whilst the work was still underway disaster struck. A fire near the ammunition magazine caused the gunpowder stored there to explode. A large part of the still on going work was destroyed and the old Municipal Palace also went up in the explosion. Worst of all a hundred men from the garrison, who were actually students from the University of Évora (a form of National Service perhaps?) and the three masters who captained them, all lost their lives.
Now the story takes a rather perverse twist... in 1662 the same French engineer Nicolau de Langres, signed up for the Spanish army and then he personally commanded the siege artillery train brought up to capture the fortress he had so recently built!
The castle and town remained in Spanish hands until The Treaty of Lisbon (13th. February, 1668), when it was finally returned to the Portuguese. Given the physical location of Juromenha - it is built on a virtually vertical cliff on the Portuguese side of the Guadiana River, the Spanish weren't really giving much up as it must have been a bit of a b*gger to hold onto given it is on the Portuguese side of a deep river and thus completely cut off from Spain inside Portuguese territory!
On November 1st. 1755, Portugal suffered a humongous earthquake which destroyed most of the city of Lisbon, a large part of the Algarve and swathes of the Setúbal coastline. The quake was followed by a 20 metre sunami, and multiple fires. The death toll is believed to have been well in excess of 10,000. One of the deadliest earthquakes in history it is estimated to have reached between 8.7 and 9 on the Richter Scale. As you might expect the castle suffered severe damage so repair work together with further modernisation and improvements were carried out and a new bastion was added to the river side to defend the anchorage down below at the water's edge.
When Napoleon Bonaparte began his campaign of expansion into the Iberian Peninsula the fortress was handed over without so much as a shot being fired to Spanish troops during the so-called War of The Oranges, a brief conflict in 1801 in which the Spanish forces, encouraged by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French military, invaded Portugal. It was a precursor to the Peninsula War proper. The fortress was eventually recovered in 1808 by The Duke of Wellington commanding British and Portuguese soldiers.
But now began it's rapid decline. Fortresses were becoming incredibly vulnerable to the effects of rapidly evolving artillery which was not only growing in calibre, but also in it's destructive ability with the appearance of Picric Acid, a new and far more potent high explosive, and L'obus Torpille - basically torpedo shaped shells which are now the norm, developed by the French and intended for deep penetration into earthworks and masonry fortifications. Indeed the panicky, exponential evolution of fortification construction due to the artillery "arms race" of the mid 1800s right up to 1917 in World War 1 can be readily observed in the photographs in my postings on Verdun in this forum from some years ago. Thick conventional walls were out, replaced instead by structures built of reinforced concrete then buried under layers of sand, concrete and yet more sand - only heavily armoured steel turrets were present on the surface. Masonry forts like Juromenha, with relatively thin vertical stone walls, were rendered a complete waste of time, so it was eventually completely abandoned in 1920. In 1950 the government allocated funds to preserve the castle and consolidation work continued until 1996 after which nobody quite knew what to do with it. A proposal was made for the construction of a hotel within the walls however that did not happen, and we have heard nothing of this plan ever since until a recent announcement that 5 million Euros will be allocated to ensure that it does not collapse any further and subsequently part of the interior of the fortress may be sold on in order to facilitate the hotel idea.
Personally I'll believe it when it happens!
Characteristics of the fortress...
It is a mixed fortification with elements of the medieval castle it once was still readily apparent, most noticeably the keep. But the Vauban era polygonal plan dominates. There are two belts of walls, and within the internal wall there is the old keep. The external walls are typical of the Vauban system with curtains, ravelins, dry moats and multiple embrasures. The main church and the smaller Misericórdia church were built within the walls, as well as the old Town Hall and a jail. A rectangular cistern supplied water to the garrison.
Today the fortress is in various states of decay from the totally collapsed to the really still very functional! There is no admission fee, no caretakers, and access is completely unrestricted. It is also quite lethal in places as I can attest after my ascent of the bell tower in one of the two churches - I eventually got to the bell, which is still there, but I didn't have much help on the way in the form of floors!
So is it actually an urbex per se?
I don't know - but it is a super little explore and well worth the effort of finding it on the map then making the journey!
Steep sided walls constructed in the Vauban style.
There is a modern wooden gate and a Portuguese flag is flying from the keep roof. But there was not a soul in sight apart from a lady who opens her ice cream van shutter as you walk out!
The medieval keep is on the left and what was presumably the town hall and jail is directly ahead...
Here we can see the medieval keep and part of the Vauban era polygonal construction defensive walls...
A guard post on the end of the wall overlooks the Guadiana River far below. Across the river is Spain...
Looking back towards the wall and the guard post through the gap where a ravelin meets the wall. The purpose of the wedge shaped ravelin, a classic Vauban feature, was to funnel approaching enemy troops into killing zones beneath the walls...
The smaller of the two churches located within the fortress...
Approaching where we think the alter originally stood within the church...
Detail of the ceiling decoration within the church...
Going upstairs in the town hall...
Although the floors are missing flag stones, presumably pilfered, the room is otherwise quite water tight...
Looking down at the river through a defensive fire point. Note the diagonal nature of the opening on the inside which allowed the marksman to achieve a greater degree of L-R aim without increasing the size of the opening such that he would be at risk from returning fire...
The medieval keep, the town hall and both churches can be seen here...
Looking down at the outer walls from the top of the inner wall. The River Guadiana appears to have another water course entering it from the left at this point. This is probably the access to the river from the mooring mentioned above...
The second, larger church built within the fortress is directly ahead...
The view down the knave. Again the flag stones appear to have been stolen...
The font?
I'm not at all sure what this is frankly!
The view from part way up the church's bell tower...
Bong etc...
The medieval keep has a staircase ascending one of the exterior walls...
Up on top of the medieval keep...
...and it's a lonnnng way down too!
That's all folks!
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