Óbidos, the Medieval Queen's Village


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February 20th 2021
Published: February 20th 2021
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http://www.heygo.com 20th February - Óbidos, the Medieval Queen's Village in Portugal



The mediaeval town of Óbidos is one of the most picturesque and well preserved in Portugal. Just 70kms from Lisbon.



Our guide Igor grew up in the area & was very passionate to show us this ancient town despite the rain pouring down.
Located on high ground near the Atlantic coast Óbidos has had a strategic importance & had already been settled prior to the Romans’ arrival in the Iberian Peninsula.

The town prospered after being chosen by the royal family. King Dinis offered it to his wife, Queen Isabel, in the 13th century, and it became part of Casa das Rainhas (Queens’ Estate).This is one of the main reasons for the high concentration of churches in this small place.



The start of the tour we overlooked an aqueduct, commissioned by Queen Catherine of Austria (wife of Portugal’s King João III) in 1573, this aqueduct carried drinking water for the people of Óbidos. Its arches crossed 3km of vineyards and orchards, starting in a spring nearby, and its water ended up in the town’s fountains.

The queen paid for
the monument herself, by selling her lands around Óbidos. It was restored in the 1600s, and survived the great earthquake of 1755, and it’s completely intact.



We entered through the’ main town gate, made up of two low-rise staggered gateways. Between the gateways is a balcony that served as an oratory, embellished with beautiful blue and white tile panels from 1740.



We walked down the cobbled main street with its white, blue & yellow houses. Normally this street would be full of locals and tourists but today in the rain and with lockdown we seemed to be the only people out and apart which did give a every feeling as If we were back in medieval times, although it would have been busy then too.



Obidos’ main church was originally a Visigothic temple, then became a mosque, and in the 1100s was once again turned into a church. The church now dates mostly from the 1600s, as it was severely damaged in an earthquake in 1535.

We were allowed inside and from the outside this church was quite uninteresting but wow inside it was beautiful.

The painted wooden ceiling
is from the 1600’s and the blue and yellow tiles that cover the walls date from between 1680 and 1690.





Óbidos International Chocolate Festival transforms Óbidos into the world’s chocolate capital for about a week, in the months of April or May. Each year has a different theme, meant to inspire the amazing chocolate sculptures that are usually on display. There are tastings of chocolates from different parts of the world, and professional chefs showing off what they can do with cocoa. Chocoholics may also join workshops and courses, and participate in contests. Apart from decors panels on the walls as we entered the village there was no sign of a festival today.



Walking through an archway we came to Obidos' castle. Dating back to Portugal’s Roman occupation, but its current layout is Moorish and the result of restorations and reconstructions from different Portuguese kings, starting in 1148.

The main towers were built in 1375, and in addition to its military function, it also served as a royal palace. The main building where the Portuguese king slept when he was in town is now a hotel, after major restoration in 1932




The view from the castle looked down into the valley. On a clear day it would be fabulous but despite the rain it was still good.



You can walk the medieval wall that surrounds the town & ranges between 20-30 feet off the ground. Stairs up to the top of the walls are steep and there are no handrails but that did not deter our local lad Igor from taking us to the top of the wall, all rather scary in the rain as he would have had an umbrella in one hand a his gimble in the other.



Obidos is considered to be one of the 7 wonders of Portugal and I can see why.


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