History of the Pousada de Óbidos:
Since 1951 the Pousada, has been installed in the castle of the medieval town of Óbidos. The original Manueline palace in the castle’s northern wing was built by João de Noronha, count of Dijon and alcaide of the town of Óbidos, at beginning of 16 C.
At the level of noble’s gallery overlooking the palace are two Manueline windows and a doorway with an ornate lintel and moulding in the fashion of intertwined tree-trunks, crowned with the coat of arms of Noronha family and the royal shied. This 16 AC palace was meticulously restored after it had damage in the 1755 earthquake.
A mediaeval town with an important historical heritage, that UNESCO may soon come to classify as part of the world’s historical and universal heritage.
History of Óbidos:
The village of Óbidos was conquered from the Moors by King Afonso Henriques in 1148, and later given by King Dinis to his wife, the Holy Queen Isabel, becoming part of the Queen’s House.
In the beginning of the 16th century, D. João de Noronha, Count of Dijon and the village mayor, introduced architectural alterations in pure Manuelino style; which can still be seen today, for example the windows of restaurant the Pousada, although the village was partially destroyed by the earthquake of 1755.
This small village has innumerable cultural treasures, such as 14 churches and chapels. The main church has the finest examples of different Portuguese tiles and paintings by Josefa Ayalla Cabrera (Josefa de Óbidos).
Óbidos’s outskirts are also interesting places to visit, such as aqueduct built by King João III’s wife, Queen Catarina of Austria, the Óbidos Lagoon, where guests can go fishing and hunting, and the Bom Sucesso´s Place, where the Royal picnics used to take place. This was first time in Portugal that a castle, a historical monument, was adapted into a Pousada in 1951.