Sortelha - Jan-Eric Osterlund

Leaving Monsanto we were on our way northwest crossing the highest mountain range in Portugal, the Estrela Mountains or Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela. In April the fields were covered in wildflowers and lots stone boulders similar to what we saw in Monsanto (but not quite as large). Before we reached Serra da Estrela we approached our lunch stop – Sortelha.

*Granite rocks and boulders covered the ground interspersed with bushes of different types*

*Approaching Sortelha that like so many medieval villages had a commanding position on a hilltop*

The oldest part of the village of Sortelha is contained within the castle walls. Sortelha was built in the 13th century and the castle walls and keep dates from this period as do many of the original buildings. Outside the walls are a cluster of more modern buildings, as you can see in the images. But our focus was on the old medieval town and its castle and ramparts.

The oldest parts of the castle were erected in 1228, but some of the walls surrounding the town were built a century later. All my following photos are captured from inside the ramparts protecting the original town of Sortelha.

*The left image shows the castle and the walls protecting the original town. The location made it easy to defend. The right image shows the keep captured from inside the castle itself.*

*The walls protected both the castle and the original medieval village that was situated inside the ramparts*

Inside the walled town a lane led up to the town square, where the church and the entrance to the castle itself were situated. The buildings here are all from early 12th to early 13th C and some stones have inscriptions in the Arabic alphabet, showing that part of the town was erected during Moorish times. We entered the castle walls through a gothic gate and the main street brought us along the path seen in the image below.

*The road leading up from the entrance gate towards the square. In the background you can see the defensive town walls.*

*The irregular town square with the 14th century parish church in the background and a Manueline pillory in the foreground*

*Although the church is from the 14th C, the altar was added much later in the Baroque period*

At the top of the hill, opposite the gothic entrance to the town were two smaller ports to enter or exit the town, but these were very difficult to reach from the outside. The first one, in the image below and the left image of those further down, led to the churchyard and a building that originally may have hold a leper colony. The other gate led straight out to wonderful views of the surrounding landscape, although I don’t think the gate was built for the medieval townsfolk to admire the views.