Castle of Avis

Fragmented medieval castle of the Order of Avis, still visible in towers and walls around town.

The Castle of Avis is now more a townscape than a single intact fortress. Three of the original towers remain, along with wall sections folded into houses and streets around the top of the hill.

That piecemeal survival is part of the charm. Walk the upper lanes and you see the castle as Avis residents have lived with it for centuries: not a museum piece, but a defensive shell slowly absorbed into the village.

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A story
The Order of Avis began as a frontier military order after the town was taken from the Moors. Its name later became dynastic: King João I, founder of the House of Avis, came from the same order.