CinX's Travels 2014

CinX · June 06, 2016, 07:18:42 PM

Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · June 06, 2016, 07:22:04 PM

The Castle of the Moors (Portuguese: Castelo dos Mouros) is a hilltop medieval castle located in the central Portuguese civil parish of Santa Maria e São Miguel, in the municipality of Sintra. Taken by Christian forces from the Moors after the fall of Lisbon, it was an important strategic point during the Reconquista, and classified as a National Monument, part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The castle was constructed during the 8th to 9th century, during the period of Muslim Iberia, as the central place in a territory that was primarily agricultural, and which was necessary to protect its population.

By 1838 the towers were already in ruins, when in 1840 Ferdinand II of Portugal took up the task of conserving and improving the condition of the castle, in which he committed 240 réis annually. He consolidated the walls, reforested the spaces, created nooks and manicured spaces and conserved the chapel. Along the south flank of the chapel he built a monument to collect the bones discovered during the public works, planting a tree in the central nave of the chapel. These reforms in the enclosure were overseen by Baron von Eschewege, but likely made the archaeological exploration of the territory considerably difficult.

At the end of the 19th century the administrator of the Forestry Service, Carlos de Nogueira, authorized several projects in the castle and chapel. In 1939 the DGEMN became involved in the reconstruction of the castle walls, in addition to the lateral door of the chapel.

Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · June 06, 2016, 07:23:01 PM

Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · June 06, 2016, 07:23:36 PM

Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · June 06, 2016, 07:30:03 PM

Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · June 11, 2016, 02:18:41 AM

The Pena National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional da Pena) is a Romanticist palace in São Pedro de Penaferrim, in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal. The palace stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It is also used for state occasions by the President of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials.

The Pena Palace has a profusion of styles much in accordance with the exotic taste of the Romanticism. The intentional mixture of eclectic styles includes the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance. References to other prominent Portuguese buildings such as the Belém Tower are also present

The interiors of the Pena Palace were adapted to serve as the Summer residence of the royal family. It has amazing stuccos, painted walls in trompe-l'oeil and various revetments in tile from the 19th century, forming part of the numerous royal collections.

The Pena Park is a vast forested area completely surrounding the Pena Palace, spreading for over 200 hectares of uneven terrain. The park was created at the same time as the palace by King Ferdinand II, who was assisted in the task by the Baron von Eschwege and the Baron von Kessler. The exotic taste of the Romanticism was applied to the park as it was to the palace. The king ordered trees from diverse, distant lands to be planted there. Those included North American Sequoia, Lawson's Cypress, Magnolia and Western Redcedar, Chinese Ginkgo, Japanese Cryptomeria, and a wide variety of ferns and tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand, concentrated in the Queen's Fern Garden (Feteira da Rainha). The park has a labyrinthic system of paths and narrow roads, connecting the palace to the many points of interest throughout the park, as well as to its two gated exits.