CASTELO BOM
40° 37' 13" N; 6° 54' 02" W
Castelo Bom is a parish in the municipality of Almeida, in the district of Guarda, 25.04 km² in area and 172 inhabitants (2021). Its population density is 6.9 inhabitants/km².
Castelo Bom is located in the border zone of Beira Interior, more specifically in the sub-region of Beira Interior Norte. It was a village and county seat for more than five hundred years.
HISTORY
Prehistory
The history of Castelo Bom is lost in time. Although, probably, the lands that make up the parish today have already been occupied by the same hominids to whose authorship belong the engravings of Foz Côa, or the tapir of Malhada Sorda, the first reliable trace of the human occupation of Castelo Bom dates from the Age of Bronze. The Castelo Bom sword, found embedded in a rock, is one of the greatest exponents of metallurgy from the Middle/Late Bronze period, and proves to us that, by this time, Man had already established himself in a castro close to the current village. The sword is on display at the Museu da Guarda. 600 meters from the village, archaeological remains point to the existence of a castro from this period.
Between the 6th century BC. and III BC, the Terras de Riba-Côa were occupied by peoples of Celtic origin. The Lusitanians would have registered a fleeting passage through the area, which would have been populated by the Vetões, serving the Côa river as a natural border between the two peoples. Already at the time, Castelo Bom was then a border zone, belonging to the vetonic municipality of Mirobriga (currently Ciudad Rodrigo).
From Romanization to Christian reconquest
The Romans faced serious difficulties in conquering this region. The Vettones and the Lusitanians, allies, fiercely resisted the invaders. Thus, only in 152 B.C. the municipality of Mirobriga passed into the hands of the Romans, being integrated into the province of Lusitania. The toponyms were then reorganized, with the Cuda Côa river causing this area to be called the transcudana region forever. Romanization brought communication routes and, consequently, development. A village was even established in the place of Argomil, better known as Queromil. By this time, the entire region of Ribacôa was incorporated into the diocese of Civitas Augusti (Ciudad Rodrigo).
The decay of the Roman Empire led to the invasion of Ribacôa by the Alans, in the year 413. The domain of the Alans was short-lived, as they were expelled by the Visigoths in the second half of the 5th century. The various anthropomorphic tombs in the parish are probably from the Visigoth period.
With the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, which began in 711, Christian populations fled to Asturias. The Terras de Ribacôa thus became depopulated for a few centuries. At the time of the reconquest, they were disputed between Christians and Muslims, but due to the strong instability, a repopulation was not possible.
Domain of the Kingdom of Leon
Only in the 11th century, in the year 1039, did the Transcudan region definitively pass into Christian hands, when it was conquered by Fernando Magno, king of León and Castile. Upon his death, on December 27, 1065, his possessions were divided among his heirs, with Castelo Bom becoming part of the Kingdom of León, ruled by Afonso VI. During this reign, the territory of Transcuda was repopulated, first without success by D. Raimundo, and then, at the beginning of the 12th century, with settlers from Salamanca, León and Galicia. By this time, the municipality of Castelo Bom was created, an assembly of inhabitants of the village with autonomy to establish general and economic rules. During the reign of D. Urraca, Castelo Bom began to gain importance, due to its strategic position on the border with the Portucalense County. During the reign of his son Alfonso VII, the first charter was awarded to Castelo Bom, and construction began on the castle which, with the peace signed between Fernando II and D. Afonso Henriques, prospered and gained population.
Cross border fights
Castelo Bom found itself, at this time, in a difficult position: Leonese domain, surrounded by Arabs and Portuguese. The fragile peace between the two Christian kingdoms was easily broken. In 1170, D. Afonso Henriques made an incursion into the kingdom of León, conquering the lands up to the gates of Ciudad Rodrigo, but was forced to retreat. In 1171, the then Prince D. Sancho conquered Castelo Bom, but the square was reconquered by the Arabs, being later recovered by the Leonese. In 1179, D. Afonso Henriques failed in a new attempt to conquer the village. In 1209, the new king of León, Afonso IX, recognized the strategic importance of the town of Castelo Bom, granting it a new charter, a document that can be found in the National Archive of Torre do Tombo. Fernando III loses Castelo Bom to the Arabs. D. Sancho II of Portugal then reconquered Castelo Bom, probably between 1240 and 1245. However, the village fell back into Castilian-Leonese hands at the end of the 13th century, during the reign of Alfonso X.
King D. Dinis and the consolidation of borders
The new Portuguese monarch, realizing the importance of the squares of Ribacôa for safeguarding national independence, made the conquest of Castelo Bom one of the priorities of his reign. In 1282, D. Dinis marries Queen Santa Isabel and receives Castelo Bom and its domains as a dowry. The entry of Portuguese troops into the village was not peaceful, with looting and the destruction of most of the defenses. Here begins a new period in the history of Castelo Bom, probably the most prosperous. On November 8, 1296, the town received its first Portuguese charter. Castelo Bom was then head of a municipality, term and vicarage, which included, in addition to the village, the places of Vilar Formoso, Freineda, São Pedro de Rio Seco, Naves and Quinta do Abutre (currently Aldeia de S. Sebastião). The monarch also orders that the entire castle be refurbished. On September 12, 1297, D. Dinis of Portugal, and Fernando IV of León and Castile signed the Treaty of Alcanizes, in which Castelo Bom took on a prominent role, passing definitively into the hands of the Kingdom of Portugal. Following this treaty, Castelo Bom was for some time one of the Kingdom's main toll points in the region of Ribacôa. This favorable climate, associated with the repopulation ordered by D. Dinis, gave the village a period of prosperity.
A remodeled castle
Despite the definition of borders, the climate in the region remained tense. For this reason, the reconstruction work on Castelo Bom's Plaza de Armas did not stop, extending into the reign of King Fernando, in the 14th century. The town's walled belt, of which several sections are still visible today, consisted of the main belt and a barbican. The main entrance to the village was, as it is today, the Porta da Vila. The castle itself, with an irregular plan, was crowned by two smaller towers and the keep. Inside the castle, there was a central palace also of irregular shape. As head of the county, Castelo Bom will participate in the Cortes of Santarém, the point that marks the beginning of the Crisis of 1383-85, supporting the oath of the marriage of D. Beatriz and João I of Castile.
The War of Restoration
During the Restoration War (1640-1668), Castelo Bom played an important role in the defense of the national territory. By this time, the castle consisted of a bastioned tower, where the jail was located, being defended by two pieces of artillery. In the most critical phase of the war, due to its extreme importance and strategic location, it was a refuge for the Governors of Beira. Improvements were made to the castle, namely the construction of support structures for civilians in the event of a siege. As a result, the Poço da Escada and the Poço d'El-Rei were built, which guaranteed the supply of water to the town's population in case of need. The village was thus safer to face the difficult times that were foreseen.
The French Invasions
In the 18th century, during the Seven Years' War, Portugal was invaded and the village of Castelo Bom was surrounded and conquered in 1762. In August 1810, during the 3rd French Invasion, Napoleonic troops surrounded Castelo Bom. When they finally managed to get over the walls, they plundered the village and destroyed much of its castle. The population, afraid of the ferocity of the French troops, took refuge next to the Côa river, from where they watched the destruction of their village, without being able to do anything. However, before leaving, the people hid the most precious assets of the Church, digging a hole in a humble house in the village, managing to save them. At the end of the invasion, when the people returned to the village, the scene was desolate: the crops were destroyed, the wine had been poured from the barrels, the village was without defenses and the very rich collection of the Municipal Archive had been set on fire. The following years were of hunger and suffering for everyone in Castelo Bom, which would never again know the prosperity of yesteryear.
The 19th and 20th Centuries
In 1801, the municipality of Castelo Bom had 1,803 inhabitants. However, in the administrative reforms promoted by D. Maria II, in 1834, the municipality of Castelo Bom is extinguished, its territory being incorporated into the municipality of Almeida. It was the culmination of a period of crisis in the village, motivated by the destruction during the invasions. From here, the population, poor, gradually destroys the castle and the pillory, using its robust stones to rebuild their homes. In 1882, Castelo Bom suffers another severe blow: the Beira Alta Line is inaugurated, but does not pass through the village, preferring the route through the village of São Sebastião and Freineda. The population of Castelo Bom is decreasing, attracted to Freineda and to the village of São Sebastião, by the progress brought by the train, and to Vilar Formoso, which becomes the main services center of the border area with the opening of the International Station and the Customs.
Geography
Description
The village is located on a protruding hill in the Côa river valley, whose maximum altitude is 725 meters, in the Castelo area. The relief is, however, quite variable within the limits of the parish, as it is a transition zone between the Côa river valley and the vast plateau of the Iberian Meseta. The minimum altitude of the parish (about 550 meters) is thus reached next to the river, while the highest points (about 770 meters of altitude) are located on the border with the parish of Freineda. The most outstanding elevations are Cabeço do Vale de Nogueira, Alto dos Chapéus and the Hermitage of Santa Bárbara, in addition to the hill where Castelo Bom is located.
The parish is made up of two population centres, the village of Castelo Bom and an annex, the village of São Sebastião. Part of the Freineda-Gare area, which includes the old railway station, is also located within the limits of the parish, but is generally associated with the parish of Freineda.
The Côa river forms the western boundary of the parish with its neighbors Mido, Castelo Mendo and Senouras. Castelo Bom also faces Vilar Formoso and São Pedro de Rio Seco to the east, Freineda to the south, and Naves to the north.
Climate
Castelo Bom, like all regions in the interior of Portugal, is characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate with a continental aspect. Thus, throughout the year, there are considerable temperature variations. Summers are quite hot and dry, with daytime temperatures often above 30 °C, sometimes with considerable night cooling. The sun is intense in this season, with high levels of ultraviolet radiation, so some skin care is convenient. There are also sudden and short summer thunderstorms. In turn, winters are cold, with temperatures dropping in Castelo Bom, sometimes below 0 °C. The snowfalls, however, are not as frequent as they used to be: the elderly report real and frequent snowstorms in the village, and, currently, it does not snow in some winters. Throughout the year, there are intense winds, typical of higher altitude areas. Air pollution levels are quite low.
economic activities
Like the overwhelming majority of villages in the interior of Portugal, Castelo Bom is affected by a dramatic aging of the population, and by the flight of young people to other places. The parish's small active population works in commerce and services in the nearest urban centres, Almeida, Guarda and Vilar Formoso.
Despite the fact that the number of farmers has drastically decreased over the last few decades, largely due to the strong emigration, this continues to play an important role in the life of the village.
The existing agricultural population is aging, and agriculture is increasingly a complement to the reform of the people of Castelo Bom, leaving aside the role of family support that it once had. This same aging led to a gradual abandonment of the land surrounding the village, as the elderly cultivate only the fields closest to the village. In Castelo Bom, the most significant crops are vines, almond trees, olive trees, and various fruit trees, namely the apple tree. Wine and olive oil of great quality are still produced.
Some of the extensive marshes of Castelo Bom serve as pasture for animals, namely goats, cattle and pigs. The raising of donkeys, an animal traditionally used in this region to help with agricultural work, is still common. Livestock is a lucrative activity in this region, although most breeders are from outside the parish.
Accessibilities
The parish of Castelo Bom is strategically located in the central part of a triangle formed by the cities of Lisbon, Porto and Madrid, being at similar distances from any of these.
In the center of the village pass the following roads:
EN 16 - Aveiro-Vilar Formoso road: allows connections to Vilar Formoso (5 km) in 3 minutes, to Fontes de Onor (7 km) in 5 minutes, to Castelo Mendo (8 km) in 7 minutes and to the city of Guarda ( 34 km) in 35 minutes;
EM 567 - Municipal Road Naves-Vilar Maior: allows connections to the neighboring villages of Freineda (5 km) in 5 minutes; Malhada Sorda (11 km) in 10 minutes; and São Pedro de Rio Seco (7 km) in 7 minutes, and the village of Almeida (14 km) in 13 minutes.
502 0.svg The A 25 crosses land in the parish, but despite the insistence of the population, no connection to Castelo Bom has yet been built. Thus, the closest motorway entrances are junction number 33 (Vilar Formoso), 7 km to the east, more useful for those coming from Spain, and 32 (Alto de Leomil), 13 km to the west, and more useful for anyone traveling from any Portuguese city.
The Beira Alta railway line crosses the parish of Castelo Bom, but does not pass through its centre. The Freineda and Aldeia stops are located within the parish of Castelo Bom, but the best option to reach the village by train is to use the Vilar Formoso station, and take a taxi to the village.
