It is one of the most beautiful of Portugal and deserved for its architectural beauty and landscape. Come to do a tour on this Portuguese village.
The town of Óbidos is located in the central region, in the municipality of Leiria, and is one of the most beautiful fortified towns of Portugal. In fact owes its name for being surrounded by walls. In the past these walls served as a defense mechanism of the population, are now currently a tender embrace of the beauty that hides within it, like a womb that preserves the history, its architecture and its location. Some of these unusual retreats arise through the narrow streets, backed by the imposing buildings of stone and whitewashed. On the right street we can find traces of a past inextricably linked to the sovereigns of Portugal. In the ancient days, Óbidos was the preferred site for the rest of kings and Moors before being conquered by Dom Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal. It is also thought the village owes its origins to the Romans, responsible for building the wall surrounding the village. The castle is a must-visit for its architectural grandeur, since it rises 79 meters above the mean level of sea water. It is a mixture of Romanesque, Gothic and Manueline to name a few, due to numerous invasions that has undergone over the centuries.
Queens Village
It is a village dominated by women. For centuries, the village belonged to the house of the Queens of Portugal, a status that benefited this town with the construction of an aqueduct and fountains built by Dona Catarina and urban renewal that has undergone over time by other soverneign. Visible is also the influence of the painter Josefa de Óbidos, although having been born in Seville, was in this village that she developed her art during the sixteenth century and which still can be appreciated in the Church of St. James.
Love is another tonic of this citadel fortified. Having been such a favorite of kings, queens and their courts, as we might be expected, the wild passion walked through the narrow streets of this village. Legend has it that shortly before Óbidos be taken by Afonso Henriques, a young soldier dreamed of a beautiful young woman opening one of the city gates allowing entry of the troops of the sovereign of Portugal, as the king did not dare to thwart the designs the master, decided to attack at the dead of night, through this portal that mysteriously opened and allowed the taking of the village. The beautiful young woman disappeared. Even today this entry is known as the Gate of Betrayal. Good trip!
