The Castelo de Obidos is located in the parish of Santa Maria, in the municipality of Obidos, in the district of Leiria, in Portugal. The medieval castle : The castle stands at a height of 79 meters above sea level, with an irregular rectangular (organic) shape, mixing elements of the Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline and Baroque styles, distributed in two main areas: the castelejo the Castle, or Pousada de Obidos and the intra-muros district.
The perimeter of the walls, reinforced by towers of square and cylindrical plan, reaches 1,565 meters, totally crossed by an adarve defended by ameado parapeito. In some places, the walls are 13 meters high.
The eastern part of the wall forms the nucleus of the wider castle wall that surrounds the castle and the village, which, extending on both sides southwards by 500 meters, closes the perimeter at the tip, called the Facho Tower.
The pillory of the village, erected in granite. It presents on one of the faces the shield with the real weapons and the other the cameroon of D. Leonor, that this queen donated to the Village in memory of the network in which the fishermen brought to him its son dead in a hunting accident. In the past, criminals and criminals were exposed and punished.
The aqueduct of the village, with a length of 3 km, joining Mount da Usseira and Obidos. It was built by queen D. Catarina of Austria, wife of D. Joao III (1521-1557), carrying the water that supplied the fountains of Obidos.
The Cruzeiro da Memoria, built to commemorate the capture of Obidos to the Moors by D. Afonso Henriques, marks the place where he built a camp before conquering the village. Reconstruction and restoration of the castle and buildings around it started in 1932 , declared a national monument and listed among the seven wonders of Portugal in 2007.In the 1950s the castle was transformed into a luxurious hotel (called a Pousada).
Access : Coordinates: 39.363333, -9.156944 / Location : Rua Direita | Santa Maria, Obidos 2510-079, Portugal / By car : From Lisbon, follow the A8 road in the direction of Leiria ( about 1 hr). From Porto, take the A1 to Leiria, and then the A8 in the direction of Lisbon / By train : Apeadeiro de Obidos. The Obidos train station is served by Comboios de Portugal Linha do Oeste (western line). “Obidos halt”
By bus : Rodoviariadooeste and Rapida Verde are bus services that provide frequent connections to Lisbon, Bombarral and Caldas da Rainha.
Services : Tours and Travel Services
Activities : Hunting / Fishing / Horse riding / Water sports / Golf: Praia D’el Rey Golf Club (10 kms)
Nearby Attractions – Go next : Obidos / Obidos Lagoon / Caldas da Rainha / Fatima / Batalha / Tomar / Alcobaca / Nazare / Peniche / Cascais / Berlengas islands
