CASTLE
- Avenida Duques de Bragança.
- Tel: 268 980 128.
-
Tue–Sun.
-
public hols.
-
VILA VIÇOSA
-
8,700.
-
-
Praça da
República (Tel: 268 881 101 ). -
Wed.
After the expulsion of the Moors in 1226, this hillside town was named Val
Viçosa – “fertile valley”. In the 15th century it became the country seat of
the dukes of Bragança, and when the 8th Duke became King João IV, Vila
Viçosa was expanded to meet the needs of nobles and visiting ministers.
Substantial houses, built from the local white marble, in streets lined with
orange trees, reflect its prosperous royal past.
The town is full of reminders of the Braganças. Dominating the west side of
the Terreiro do Paço is the long façade of the Paço Ducal ,
which stretches for 110 m (360 ft). Visitors to the palace emerge through
the Porta do Nó , a marble and schist gateway formed into
the knot symbol of the Braganças.
In the centre of the square a statue of João IV on horseback looks across to
the Igreja dos Agostinhos (not open to the public).
Founded in 1267 but rebuilt in the 17th century, the church was intended as
the last resting place of the dukes, but despite their affection for Vila
Viçosa, most Bragança monarchs are buried in Lisbon, at São Vicente de Fora.
In the Renaissance Convento das Chagas , on the south side
of the square, are the tombs of the Bragança wives. Founded by the 4th
Duke’s second wife in 1530, the convent is being converted to a pousada .
Alongside the Paço Ducal, an 18-km (11-mile) wall rings the tapada real , or royal chase. Uphill from the Terreiro do Paço is
the castle , where an exhibition explains the history of
the hunt. The castle, built by King Dinis, was the Braganças’ residence from
1461 until the Paço Ducal became habitable.
In the nearby 14th-century church of Nossa Senhora da
Conceição stands a Gothic image of the Virgin, said to be from
England. During the 1646 cortes João IV crowned her as patron saint of
Portugal, after which no Portuguese monarch ever wore a crown.
Vila Viçosa
VILA VIÇOSA: PAÇO DUCAL
The Dukes of Bragança owned vast estates, but the lavish palace at Vila
Viçosa, begun by Dom Jaime in 1501, became their favoured residence.
When the 8th Duke became king in 1640, many of the furnishings accompanied
him to Lisbon, but the long suite of first-floor rooms is still splendid,
from the Sala da Cabra-Cega, where royal parties played blind man’s buff, to
the heroic Sala de Hércules. More intimate are the rooms of King Carlos and
his wife, which are much as he left them the day before his assassination in
1908.
- Terreiro do Paço.
- Tel: 268 980 659.
-
9:30am–1pm, 2–5pm Tue–Fri;
9:30am–1pm, 2:30–6pm Sat–Sun. (Last admission one hour before
closing.) -
1 Jan, Easter, 25 Dec, 1
May. -
-
compulsory.
PALACE GUIDE
Guided tours, which last about an hour, take in the royal rooms ranged along the first floor and ground-floor areas such as the kitchen and the treasury. Entry to the coach museum, on the north side of the palace, and armoury is by separate tickets. From time to time areas may be closed for restoration and rooms can be shut off without notice.
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF BRAGANÇA
Afonso, illegitimate son of João I, was created Duke of Bragança in 1442,
first of an influential but bloodstained dynasty. Fernando, the 3rd Duke,
was executed in 1483 by his cousin, João II, who feared his power. Jaime,
the unstable 4th Duke, locked up his wife in Bragança castle, then killed
her at Vila Viçosa. It was Dom Jaime who initiated the building of the
palace at Vila Viçosa, an ambitious work embellished by later dukes to
reflect their aspirations and affluence. The 8th Duke only reluctantly
relinquished a life of music and hunting here to take up the throne.
The Braganças ruled Portugal for 270 years, accumulating wealth and forging
alliances (João IV’s daughter, Catherine, married Charles II of England),
but inbreeding enfeebled the bloodline. The last monarch, Manuel II, fled to
exile in 1910, two years after his father and brother were shot by
Republicans. The present duke farms quietly near Viseu.
