Conhecer a História

It comprises a rich architectural set with historical and artistic relevance, of extreme importance in the scope of the national heritage.
It is a walled area of pentagonal shape with five cylindrical towers and two public doors, one facing south and other facing north. The keep stands out in its perimeter, adorned with a crown of battlements, also known as clock tower since it received this mechanism. It has an older wall section, made of stone, which was later elevated by brick battlements.
The beginning of its construction was usually identified with the year 1313, by order of Portuguese King D. Dinis. However, this indication has more recently been supplanted by the proposal of a construction made at the end of the 15^th or the beginning of the 16^th century. Sustaining this proposal are the building’s architectural features and some documental information. First, the finding that the document that has been used to state the order of the castle’s construction was actually for the construction of a fence, that is, a wall that surrounds the village and which, given the absence of traces, was never built. Secondly, because there is a documental text stating that in 1478 there was only the intention of building a fortress and a castle. In the same document is conceded to the village the privilege of having as alcaide (mayor) of that castle one of the land judges (individuals born in the village who held the highest positions in the council) of the locality, and not an external individual appointed by the king.
It is not a construction with defensive functions since it is located at a low level and has an elevation of the terrain to the South that supplants it. Moreover, it was built in a time of the kingdom’s appeasement. The castle was, above all, an administrative and religious centre.
It integrated in its interior several spaces and institutions throughout the centuries: the primitive church of Santa Maria de Foxem (13^th century); the Matriz (Main) Church dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Anunciação (Our Lady of Annunciation) (16^th century) above the sacristy, which houses the chapel of Santo António (Saint Anthony)(16^th century); the church of Misericórdia (16^th century), its pharmacy and headquarters of this institution, now gone by ruin; Town Council (until the end of the 17^th century); the church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção (Our Lady of Assumption) (end of the 17^th century); the parish council (20^th century) and the cemetery. The latter was probably used since the 15^th century and received burials until 1871, at which time the municipal cemetery outside the village was built. In the castle’s courtyard is a Manueline (16^th century) calvary of rare artistic expression.
Protection: National Monument, Decree of 16-06-1910, DG n.º 136 de 23 junho 1910 / ZEP / Zona "non aedificandi", Portaria, DG, 2.ª série, n.º 150 de 30 junho 1948

REFERENCES
Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Viana do Alentejo, Câmara Municipal de Viana do Alentejo, Privilégios, Lv002 (CMVA/A/002/Lv002-1784)
Arquivo Nacional/Torre do Tombo, Leitura Nova, Livro 3º da Estremadura.
CID, Pedro, Processo de investigação em curso no âmbito do Projecto de Recuperação, Conservação e Valorização do Castelo de Viana do Alentejo, 2003. Citado por PAIS, Ana Cristina, “Projecto de recuperação, conservação e valorização do Castelo de Viana do Alentejo”, Património Estudos, nº 7, 2004, pp. 133-137.
FARRICA, Fátima, Documentos para a história de Viana, Alcáçovas e Aguiar: mostra documental, Viana do Alentejo, Câmara Municipal de Viana do Alentejo, 2013 (catálogo de exposição).
GONÇALVES, Ana e outros, “Necrópole do Castelo de Viana do Alentejo: síntese da intervenção arqueológica e do estudo antropológico”, Estudos Património, nº 7, 2004, pp. 138-145.
PAIS, Ana Cristina, “Projecto de recuperação, conservação e valorização do Castelo de Viana do Alentejo”, Património Estudos, nº 7, 2004, pp. 133-137.