The wonderful Portuguese culture
"Passion, culture, food and history"
Castelo de Vide
"A charm and picturesque historic village"
"Uma charmosa e pitoresca vila histórica"
A small picturesque hidden village in the mountains
We welcome you in Castelo de Vide, a small picturesque hidden village in the mountains of the Serra de São Mamede. This is a natural park near the Spanish border. Castelo de Vide is a hidden gem with a lot of important Portuguese history. Because, it is an untouched charming place in the mountains, some also call it "The Sintra of the Alentejo". Read further below and find out why this place is worth your visit on your next road trip through Portugal.
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#castelodevide, #alentejo, #portalegre, #jews, #salgueiromaia
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Portalegre, Alto-Alentejo, mountains, Jews, Salgueiro Maia
The nature of Castelo de Vide as a picturesque hidden gem
Nature and mountains in the Alentejo
The Alentejo is known for wonderful wavy vistas. But in the district Portalegre, you also find mountains. With a lot of nature. Their is Castelo de Vide located, on the way to Marvão. So, this is an excelent stop before you travel further through the mountains to the Serra de São Mamede to Marvão at the top.
A natural spa resort like Sintra
So, here you find a lot of nature, mountains and a lot of viewpoints. Castelo de Vide also is a place with less tourism as the locations around Lisboa, Porto, in the Algarve or Évora. It is more a hidden gem with healthy air. This makes this place a sort of natural spa resort in the mountains and a lovely place to stay or pass your time. Like many other Portuguese locations, it also has small picturesque and charming streets and a lot of history. A history where people wanted to hide themselves in the mountains to live on their own. Finally, Castelo de Vide also has a strategic location. This all together is why some people sometimes call Castelo de Vide as the "Sintra of the Alentejo". And really, when we walk there through the village, to enjoy our time, we only have to agree that this has some similarities with SIntra. But of course, nothing beats Sintra itself.
Give it a try, travel to Castelo de Vide and let the feeling come to you to make your own decision. Of course, you also have to visit Sintra to make a comparison ;-).
Castelo de Vide and a lot of important history
A strategic location in the mountains
First of all, due the location it was a strategic point. There still are old city walls around the village. And yes, as we say a strategic place, also Castelo de Vide has a castle on the top hill of the village. This is like every strategic place in Portugal, which was built on a mountain.
Jews
The community of the Jews in Castelo de Vide was very important. It was from here, that a lot of them have spread around Europe. These days, there still live Jews here, in a close community.
The sausages of the Jews
In the times of the reconquest by the Catholics on the Moors, the Catholics placed pork meat in front of the people. This was to know if they were Catholic or not. Because the Moors did not eat pork. As well as the Jews that also lived here. If the people wanted to eat this pork, they knew that they were Catholic and where allowed to stay. Otherwise, they had to leave the reconquested country. But the Jews around the mountains in Castelo de Vide founded a nice way to deceive the Catholics, so they could stay. The Jews in this region made sausages of grain and bread. The Catholics thought that they eat pork because they eat sausages. So, these people were allowed to stay.
Salgueiro Maia
The captain of the Carnation Revolution
When we talk about the modern times of Portugal, also the Carnation Revolution of 1974 comes always in the mind. This was a nonviolent revolution of a movement of army to make an end on the Estado Novo, which was established by Salazar. Read more about the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 in this post about the revolution.
Os Capitães de Abril
The soldiers of the soldiers of the "Movement of the Armed Forces", o "Movimento das Forças Armadas" (MFA), are called "Os Capitães de Abril". Or in English: "The Captains of April". The most famous capitão, captain, was Salgueiro Maia. He stood in the lead of the front line in the streets of Lisboa. Salgueiro Maia was born in Castelo de Vide. On the walls of the house where he grew up, you can find some nice images of him. Also the castle of the village holds a nice museum of his whole life. Salgueiro died at an age of 47 years. His last rest place is here in Castelo de Vide.
Travel to Castelo de Vide, a picturesque hidden gem
Visit this wonderful place full of important history. A charming hidden gem in in the mountains of the Alto-Alentejo. Castelo de Vide is a great place in the mountains of the Alentejo to discover the real charm of Portugal. The most easy way to reach the picturesque Castelo de Vide is by car or a bus of Rede Expressos. Click on the button below to find a stay in Castelo de Vide.
By car
From Lisboa, you reach Castelo de Vide after around 2h30 driving. Best way is to take the highway with toll. Do you come from Évora? This takes around 1h. From there, the best way is to take the Route National over Estremoz and Portalegre.
By bus
Castelo de Vide has a Rodoviária bus station. So, it is possible to take a bus of Rede Expressos to reach Castelo de Vide. You can take them from Lisboa or Portalegre. From Lisboa, the bus brings you to Castelo de Vide by driving over Ponte de Sor.
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