Castelo de Aguiar de Sousa
Facts and practical information
The Tower of Aguiar de Sousa is located in the place of Vila, parish of Aguiar de Sousa, municipality of Paredes, district of Porto, in Portugal.
The Castle of Aguiar de Sousa was located in the defensive network of the territory, to which the Asturian kings paid particular attention. Its location reveals the defensive concerns employed in the construction, as it is difficult to access and surrounded by higher hills that take away its visibility.
It was attacked by Almançor in 995 in the context of the wars of the Christian Reconquista.
This monument is part of the Sousa Valley Romanesque Route and belonged to Mem Pires de Aguiar, born in 1100.
It was declared Property of Public Interest by Decree no. 95/78, DR 210 of September 12, 1978.
An example of medieval military architecture, it is located in what remains of an old fortified structure, with a tower off-centered against the oval wall. The tower was not supposed to exist in the 12th century, although the construction of keep towers inside the walled walls is normal in the Romanesque period.
This important monument headed a Land in the reorganization of the territory in the 11th century and the important Julgado de Aguiar de Sousa, already in the 13th century.
The Court of Aguiar de Sousa, one of the most powerful in the Entre-Douro-e-Minho, stretched from Porto to near Penafiel, including all the parishes of the current county of Paredes, with the exception of Recarei, plus 42 parishes of the bordering counties, as evidenced by the Inquiries of 1220.
Porto
Porto