The tower at Beja castle reopens on July 19th after a €500,000 renovation programme.
The repair and renovation of the Beja castle tower "the highest in Europe" is "a landmark step in the suite of works in progress at this monument," according to the council.
The state of the 183-step tower meant access was barred and in November 2014 a balcony collapsed causing a rapid rethink an acceleration of the maintenance programme with the Alentejo Culture Board appointing a specialist company to carry out the work before more of the structure fell down.
The work involved taking much of the tower structure apart, including balconies and battlements, replacing friable stonework and treating the surface with chemicals before repointing.
The work also involved rebuilding much of the spiral staircase which too had structural problems.
At Paderne castle in the Algarve, a new programme has been launched to make better use of the historic site which is usually closed to the public, much to visitors' irritation having managed to find the right road out of the village and negotiated the track.
‘Discovering the Castle of Paderne’ will run during July and August with the castle opening its gates from 10h00 to 18h00 offering an excellent opportunity to look over the inside of one of the most interesting monuments in the region.
Albufeira council and the Regional Directorate of Culture have opened up the castle and developed enhanced on-site information.
The castle of Paderne is in a strategic point between the coast and the hills between Loulé and Silves. It was built in the twelfth century during the Almohad rule, a period in which the Arabs held a strong defensive system in order to try to stop the expansionist policy of the Christians.
The first written reference for the castle dates to 1189 and the archaeological work that has been carried out shows human occupation dating to the mid-twelfth century.
In the year 1506 the population transferred from inside the castle to the current parish of Paderne when a new church, Nossa Senhora da Esperança, was ready.
Silves castle is now open from 09:00 until 23:00 to encourage evening tourists to a series of music evenings to be held until August 3rd.
Paderne castle history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Paderne
Beja castle history
