Torre de Lapela

Monção, Portugal

The Torre of Lapela is a ruined medieval castle located next to the Minho River in the town of Lapela, in Monção municipality.

One tower is all that remains of the Castle of Lapela, which was situated a few kilometers downstream from the Castle of Monção, which defended the ford of the Minho. The historians attribute its foundation to Lourenço Gonçalves de Abreu, lord of Merufe, Sanfins, Lapela, Barbeita, Regalados, and other lands of the Alto Minho. It is thought that because he had fought in the Battle of Valdevez next to King Afonso I and his father, Gonçalo Martins Abreu, Afonso I had the castle built and appointed him its first commander.

Constructed of stone ashlar, the square tower measures 10 meters on a side and 35 meters high. Its walls are three meters thick. It has a single entrance on the north facade about 6 meters above the ground, surmounted with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Portugal.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Portugal

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Nancy Carvalho (3 months ago)
My favorite place to watch the sunset
Judy O'Neill (13 months ago)
We arrived outside of the time the tower was open, but we were not going to climb it anyhow. Took some photos & walked the town. There is a shady park that is great for a picnic by the water.
Cristiana Lages (13 months ago)
Interesting tower with an interesting history. Take the main road there as the streets in the tiny village are not large. If you have kids, keep a close eye on them as the stairs are not protected from an health and safety perspective.
João Pedro Barral (15 months ago)
Great place to visit. Showing a video with the tower history. The guide was very nice and helpful
Otmar W Baertl (20 months ago)
This is an amazing place,fantastic view with a video in Portuguese but it can be understood, the young lady taking care is super friendly and explained another route tome
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).