Pousada
de Estremoz - Rainha Santa Isabel
Estremoz
Alentejo
Portugal
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Pousada
History:
In 1259, D. Afonso III recognized
the geostrategical situation of Estremoz, granted it a charter in Santarém
and the castle was founded.
From the beginning, the castle
has been associated with the Tower, thought to be the work of three kings
- D. Afonso IV, D. Pedro and D. Fernando. This is the origin of the traditional
name - Tower of the Three Crowns - symbolized by the marble pinnacle in
the East corner of the upper terrace.
A few years later, D. Dinis
ordered the building of his residence here. Around 1281, he sent ambassadors
to Aragon to ask for the hand of the Infanta D. Isabel, later Queen and
Saint.
At the end of June 1336,
striving for peace and harmony in the kingdom, Isabel came to Estremoz.
Tired after two long journeys - from Compostela to Coimbra and from there
to Estremoz - by the weight of her years and the sultry hot weather, she
fell seriously ill. Despite the care of her son and daughter-in-law, the
knowledge of her physicians and the devotion of the Franciscan monks, the
illness did not let up and she died on the 4th of July.
From her stays in Estremoz,
several legends were made and miracles are still said to have happened.
These still exist and are now a tradition of seven centuries. The most
outstanding one is that of the little birds which took her ball of thread
in their beaks once when it fell down while she was embroidering. From
her rooms in the castle, she also used to attend mass in the low square
of the Monastery of Saint Francisco.
The palace and the castle
themselves mirrored the anguish, uneasiness and despair of her last five
days of life in this world. Shortly after came the heart-breaking sorrow
and pomp of her funeral, which took place a few days later, according to
her will.
A few years, later her son
left Estremoz for the glorious battle of Salado, which put an end to Arab
power in the Peninsula, coming back here afterwards. As a testimony, there
is a Coat of Arms hanging over the portal of the Audience Palace.
The Saint Queen’s grandson,
D. Pedro, the lover of the beautiful Inês, also chose this quiet
palace in the time of his sorrow. According to the tradition, he was offering
his heart to this place, when he suddenly died.
D. Fernando and D. Leonor
Teles chose the Palace of Estremoz as a safe hiding place for Count Andeiro,
who was politically involved with Castile and England. Tradition says that
it was in one of the chambers of the Tower that they started their affair,
while the king was having his siesta. Leonor Teles also visited Estremoz
when her daughter D.Beatriz married D.João I, King of Castile.
Some time later, this historical
place was related to the crisis of 1383-85, which divided the people and
the nobles. Mestre de Avis and D. Nuno Álvares Pereira met in Estremoz
to try to solve the problem of this crisis.
Around 1430, D. João
I assembled the Court. In the same period, D. Duarte met D. Gomes, Abbot
of Florence, who brought him the bull for the Crusade against the Arabs.
In December 1474, D. Afonso
IV assembled the Court in Estremoz to consider the delicate matter of the
will of King Henry IV of Castile, in which his niece Princess D. Joana
was involved.
On December 23rd 1490, D.
Isabel met her father-in-law and her fiancé in Estremoz. Having
been first carried out by proxy in Seville, the ceremony was repeated at
Santa Maria do Castelo. This brought new life to the palace with nobles
and clergymen. Tradition tells this was the first time men and women ever
danced together at the Court.
In 1487, D. Manuel came here
once more, this time to meet Vasco da Gama and give him command of the
fleet which would take him to India. The ladies of Estremoz embroidered
the banner under which Vasco da Gama took a oath.
In 1659, D. Luísa
de Gusmão ordered the creation of the Oratory in the Palace of Estremoz,
at the place where the Saint Queen died.
During the first two weeks
of June 1663, the Palace collected the spoils taken at the battle of Ameixial
and in 1665 those of the battle of Montes Claros.
On August 17th 1698, there
was an explosion in the weapon and ammunition storehouse and the fire destroyed
the medieval building, as well as its valuable furniture. The castle was
also ruined, except for the Tower.
Between 1738 and 1742, D.
João had a beautiful weapon hall erected on the ruins, with a collection
of forty thousand weapons. Its architect was António Carlos Reis.
Those weapons were partially
used in 1762 and 1801 and in 1808 the French Army, led by Kellerman, sacked
the building and blew it up by setting powder barrels on fire. Nevertheless,
they did not manage to destroy it and this was attributed to a miracle
of the Saint Queen.
In 1833, on July 27th, over
thirty members of the Liberal Party were murdered here. From then until
the 1930’s, this building was used to lodge Military Units.
In the fifties, the Industrial
and Commercial School of Estremoz was housed here.
In the sixties, the building,
after improvements, became the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel.
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