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:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Carlos Eiriz (2 years ago)
Great seafood

Ve Rena (2 years ago)
Lovely tower with a great view over the river. Careful if you have problems with heights though, the railing on the roof was made for (very) short people.

Nic Peters (3 years ago)
Great little museum tucked away in a little town. The guide was very knowledgeable and gave my group an in depth look at the history of the place. Would recommend to anyone looking to see a real medieval castle that isn't super commercialized.

Diogo Murteira (4 years ago)
Torre de Lapela is the remaining tower of a castle that helped defend Portugal from Spain after independency. We can climb to the top through stairs (for free). There are a few stops where we have opportunity to know more about the castle history. At the top you'll have nice 360° view.

BosscheDraak (RedTruckIsLife) (4 years ago)
A tower guarding a small sleepy town. The view of the nearby river is simply stunning. A very kind and helpful lady provided us with some information about the tower and area.

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Walled city of Jajce

The Walled City of Jajce is a medieval fortified nucleus of Jajce in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with citadel high above town on top of pyramidal-shaped steep hill, enclosed with approximately 1,300 metres long defensive walls,. It is one of the best preserved fortified capitals of the Bosnian Kingdom, the last stronghold before the kingdom dissolved under the pressure of military advancement at the onset of Ottoman Empire takeover.

The entire complex of the Walled city of Jajce, with the citadel, city ramparts, watchtower Medvjed-kula, and two main city gate-towers lies on the southern slope of a large rocky pyramid at the confluence of the rivers Pliva and Vrbas, enclosed by these rivers from the south-southwest, with the bed of the Pliva, and east-southeast by the river Vrbas gorge.

History

The fortress was built by Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, the founder of Jajce. However, the city became the seat of the Bosnian kings, hence the royal coat of arms decoration on the citadel entrance. A part of the wall was built by the Hungarian King, while the Ottomans erected the powder magazine. The walls are high and the castle was built on a hill that is egg shaped, the rivers Pliva and Vrbas also protect the castle. There is no rampart on the south and west.

Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Kingdom of Bosnia during its time. The town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town. About 10–20 kilometres from Jajce lies the Komotin Castle and town area which is older but smaller than Jajce. It is believed the town of Jajce was previously Komotin but was moved after the Black Death.

The first reference to the name of Jajce in written sources is from the year 1396, but the fortress had already existed by then. Jajce was the residence of the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomasevic; the Ottomans besieged the town and executed him, but held it only for six months, before the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus seized it at the siege of Jajce and established the Banovina of Jajce.

Skenderbeg Mihajlović besieged Jajce in 1501, but without success because he was defeated by Ivaniš Korvin assisted by Zrinski, Frankopan, Karlović and Cubor.

During this period, Queen Catherine restored the Saint Mary"s Church in Jajce, today the oldest church in town. Eventually, in 1527, Jajce became the last Bosnian town to fall to Ottoman rule. The town then lost its strategic importance, as the border moved further north and west.

Jajce passed with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the administration of Austria-Hungary in 1878. The Franciscan monastery of Saint Luke was completed in 1885.

Surroundings

The Walled city of Jajce is located at the confluence of the Pliva and Vrbas rivers. It was founded and started developing in the Middle Ages and acquired its final form during the Ottoman period. There are several churches and mosques built in different times during different rules, making Jajce a rather diverse town in this aspect. It is declared National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and, as the old Jajce city core, including the waterfall, and other individual sites outside the walled city perimeter, such as the Jajce Mithraeum, it is designated as The natural and architectural ensemble of Jajce and proposed as such for inscription into the UNESCO"s World Heritage Site list. The bid for inscription is currently placed on the UNESCO Tentative list.

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