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Fort of São Vicente Fort of São Vicente was part of the famous Lines of Torres, which made up the capital’s defensive ring during the Napoleonic invasions, being considered the most important Fort of the Lines, defending the connection between Lisbon and Coimbra. It was started to build in 1809, on top of one of the highest hills that rise around the city, Hill of São Vicente. It has a Y-shape, and was composed of a set of trenches, moats, beams, storerooms, and 39 original fire hydrants.
Archeira Fort Fort of Archeira, located in a strategic location of the defensive system of the Lines of Torres, is a large structure that belonged to the First Defensive Line, alongside the forts of Catefica and Feiteira, located one a little further north, whose objective would be the defense of the Ribaldeira and Runa valleys. It has a perimeter of 436.48 m and an area of about 9,534.44 m2, it was equipped with six fire hydrants (12 gauge) and a garrison of 500 men. Despite not having cannons, inside there are traces of what appears to be a semi-underground warehouse. It integrates the set of Fortifications of the Lines of Torres Vedras classified as a National Monument.
Olheiros Fort Integrating the defensive system built to organize the defense of Lisbon after the second French invasion of the Peninsular War, in 1809, the Forte de Olheiros (also known as Forte do Canudo) stands on top of a hill overlooking Torres Vedras.
Alqueidão Fort It includes a set of eight fortifications (forts and redoubts) in the municipality which, in the context of the Peninsular War (1807-1814), were part of District No. 2 of the 1st Line of the defensive system of the Lines of Torres Vedras: Alqueidão, Caneira, Machado, Moinho do Céu, Novo or Galhofos, Simplício, Trinta and Patameira. These fortifications crossed fires among themselves over the access to the mountain, transforming it into a great entrenchment that had a decisive deterrent role in the withdrawal of French troops under the command of André Masséna.
Castro do Zambujal Discovered in the 1930s by the archaeologist Leonel Trindade, Castro de Zambujal, in the Torres Vedras Municipality, is one of the main fortified villages in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the largest in Chalcolithic, in Western Europe, which will have been inhabited between the first and third millennium BC.
Torres Vedras Castle The castle of Torres Vedras was conquered from the Muslims by D. Afonso Henriques, in 1148, who donated this fortification to D. Fuas Roupinho, a knight who collaborated in the struggles for the Christian reconquest of the peninsula and is the protagonist of the legend of Nazaré. In the reigns of D. Dinis, D. Fernando and also D. Manuel I, in 1516, the castle underwent reconstruction and improvement of defenses, a concern that may be linked to the fact that this castle served as a residence for several kings.
Canos Fountain Located in the urban perimeter of Torres Vedras, the existence of the fountain is referred to in the 14th century. It was fed by the aqueduct and is located near one of the gates of the medieval village (Porta da Corredoura). The fountain is a pavilion covered with a cross-shaped vault with ribs that rest on conical corbels. From the sides of the pavilion five ogival arches are torn and the interesting set of Gothic gargoyles that decorate it and the set of four shields arranged on the faces of the columns stand out: “the front ones bearing the royal coat of arms dating back to the 13th century, being with all probability of the reign of D. Afonso III, and the two sides of the same time, representing in three castles of severe lines, sober of attire, the old coat of arms of the old Turribus Veteribus. ”
Aqueduct Located in the urban perimeter of Torres Vedras, this utilitarian work of Gothic architecture extends for more than two kilometers and was built to supply the Chafariz dos Canos, located in the historic center of the City. The date of the primitive construction is unknown, but the current structure of the pipes was remodeled and expanded in the second half of the 16th century, when D. Sebastião granted a license to the local authority so that its structure could be extended. This remodeling coincided with the restoration of the Fonte dos Canos in 1561 (parchment belonging to the Church of S. Pedro), by order of Infanta D. Maria.
Interpretation Center of the Jewish Community of Torres Vedras The Interpretation Center of the Jewish Community reveals the history of the Jewish presence in Torres Vedras. Opened on May 18, 2017, this museum equipment from the Municipality of Torres Vedras was produced under the scientific supervision of the Chair of Sephardic Studies Alberto Benveniste, from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon.
Varatojo Monastery Located on the outskirts of Torres Vedras, the convent was founded by D. Afonso V, around 1470. It was the residence of kings and they called it a real home. The first religious of the Order of S. Francisco were received in 1474. It started out as a Convent of Franciscan Studies, later being a College of Apostolic Missionaries, given by D. Pedro II to Friar António das Chagas.
Church of Grace The Convent of Nossa Senhora da Graça was built in the 16th century (1544 – 1580) by the hermit friars of Santo Agostinho (or gracianos), to replace the previous building – founded in 1266 -, located in the lower area of Torres Vedras, due to the constant floods that he suffered, with the floods of the Sizandro River. The building, of enormous and majestic proportions, has a 16th-century conventual structure centered on a large cloister, for which the areas of worship (conventual church, covered cemetery, sacristy and ante-sacristy) and cloister (concierge, library, room) are opened. chapter, west wing, cells, gafaria, refectory, kitchen and barn).
St. Peter’s Church The Church of S. Pedro, alongside that of Santa Maria do Castelo, is the oldest of the four headquarters in the city and the second, in precedence, after that. It is known that it already existed in the reign of D. Afonso Henriques, but it was completely rebuilt in the beginning of the 16th century, undergoing a new reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. It has a longitudinal plan and the head facing west, as was the custom in medieval churches. It has a small sacristy that communicates with the Casa da Irmandade dos Clérigos Pobres, where, in 1929, the Municipal Museum functioned, and where the Parish Office now operates. It is a very interesting room, whose walls are lined with 18th century figurative tiles, based on engravings by Cláudio Coelho, and the ceiling with four canvases by Bernardo de Oliveira Góis, representing the evangelists. The bell tower, located to the right of the church, has a square plan.
Serra Do Socorro The Local Protected Landscape of the Serras do Socorro and Archeira (PPLSSA) stands out from the surrounding in morphological terms and consists of the Serra do Socorro, Archeira, Galharda and Monte Deixo, despite being the first two that deserve more prominence and whose toponymy is more locally recognized. The 1223 hectares of the local protected landscape of the municipality of Torres Vedras are distributed mainly by the Parishes of Turcifal and União das Freguesia de Dois Portos and Runa, also encompassing small areas of the Union of Parishes of Santa Maria, São Pedro and Matacães. The area adjoins the south with the municipality of Mafra, where the southern slope of Serra do Socorro develops. PPLSSA presents elements with patrimonial value in natural, historical, cultural and landscape terms.
Serra De Montejunto Serra de Montejunto is a mountain in Portugal that is part of the Montejunto-Estrela System and located in the municipalities of Alenquer and Cadaval. It is the highest natural viewpoint in Extremadura, rising to 666 m in altitude, with 534 meters of topographic prominence and 53.41 km of isolation. This geological structure, 15 km long and 7 km wide, is rich in algars, caves, residual ponds, necropolises and prehistoric fossils.
