Castle of Alfeizerão
The Castle of Alfeizerão (), is a Portuguese medieval castle in civil parish of Alfeizerão, in the municipality of Alcobaça, in the district of Leiria. History What remains of the castle of Alfeizerão is still undocumented with any rigor, or accompanied by archaeological references. The strategic relevance of the locality to the birth of the Kingdom of Portugal, its expansion to the south in the middle of the 12th century, certainly determined its importance. About from São Martinho do Porto, and it is the principal defensive point between Peniche and Nazaré, sheltering a small port. Following the conquest of the Arab stronghold in the 12th century, the fortifications were reconstructed in 1147 by troops loyal to D. Afonso Henriques. The castle was sited on a hilltop, over the coast and guarding an extensive region above the sea. The castle defended the coast along with the Fort of São Miguel (along the promontory of Nazaré) and the Fortress of Peniche (from the peninsula of Peniche), between the silt sandbar of the port. There are scarce references to the life of the castle, in particular during the height of its operation, in the early Middle Ages, but its decline has been documented,