Castle of Noudar

Perched atop a 275-meter hill on a rocky schist platform, the Castle of Noudar commands sweeping views of the surrounding plains close to the Portuguese-Spanish border. The fortress follows an irregular trapezoidal shape aligned northwest to southeast, incorporating remnants of the adjacent medieval village enclosure to the southeast, where vestiges of the settlement’s defensive walls persist.

The outer walls, constructed primarily of stone with some sections using rammed earth reinforced by schist masonry, are reinforced by twelve corbels—rectangular or square projections providing structural support. The enclosure features two main gates facing east and west; each gate is flanked by small rectangular towers that once offered additional defense. The southeast perimeter notably preserves patches of its original earthwork ramparts.

At the heart of the castle stands a tall, rectangular keep tower reaching approximately 17.5 meters in height. This tower has two entrances: one on the ground level and a second at the upper floor accessible by an external staircase. Its roofline is adorned with pyramidal merlons, the stone crenellations that served as protective parapets. Inside, a cistern retains water, and the castle grounds include two additional cisterns situated within the central courtyard to supply inhabitants during sieges.

The open courtyard, or military square, stretches in a long, narrow fashion and contains the remains of various internal buildings that once formed the alcazaba—the fortified inner area of the castle. Among these is a vaulted keep tower and a vaulted cistern dating from the 15th century, recognized by the elegant stone arches that support its ceiling.

Surrounding the main fortress was a barbican, an outer defense wall, exhibiting a double wall line on its northeast side and two rectangular towers with tile-covered roofs on the southwest, altogether forming a trapezoidal secondary enclosure. Defensive structures also included semicylindrical corbels on the southeast side and square towers on the east and north, all of which were already partially ruined by the early 1500s.

Within the castle walls lies the parochial church dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of Exile). This place of worship was reconstructed in the 1980s as part of modern conservation efforts.

Two medieval inscriptions discovered within the keep tower offer insight into the castle’s early history. One inscription commemorates Master Lourenço Afonso as the founder of the castle in 1308. The other is connected to Aires Afonso’s commandery and features Gothic script, symbols such as the Order of Aviz’s cross, depictions of birds and fruits, a scallop shell, and an old Portuguese coat of arms. These inscriptions have since been preserved in the Municipal Museum of Barrancos.

The wider landscape around the castle includes a rich array of archaeological and traditional features: prehistoric dolmens, Chalcolithic settlements, watermills, and shepherds’ huts characterized by circular shapes with stone ceilings fashioned into false domes. Natural vegetation such as oleanders thrives along nearby waterways, alongside woodlands dominated by different types of oak trees. The terrain near the border has also been shaped by modern agricultural practices focused on monocultures.