Castle of Loule
History
The entrance of the Castle of Loule is situated at Rua Dom Paio Peres Correia. The old Arabic name of this town was al-Ulya which was changed over the centuries to Loule. In the past, an old castle existed here date back to the 2nd century BC. An Arab castle was built around 715 AD but Ferdinand (King of Leon) conquered this castle in the 11th century. A Muslim army re-took this castle and strengthened it over the centuries. The Castle of Loule was conquered from the Muslims by the knights of the Order of St. James, under the command of Dom Paio Peres Correia in 1249.
During the Muslim period, high walls protected the citadel and the medina.In 1268, Afonso III of Portugal expanded the walls and made few structural changes. In the courtyard of the castle, there is a covered corridor or a tunnel leading to lower sections of the castle. A staircase leads to the upper section (ramparts) of the castle where three towers still stand today.
Towers
The name of the road below these walls is Rua da Barbaca (barbican). Hence the name suggests, there may have been a second lower wall below the towers. One of the towers rises above the municipal archaeology museum. Houses were built all the way to the castle walls but some re-modelling of the area managed to preserve the castle.
From the top of the castle one can have sweeping views of Loule. It is a nice little town which offers a very peaceful environment to enjoy the historical sites. In one of the towers, a nativity scene is shown. The tower had a sensor which would trigger music whenever someone would get inside the tower.
