Castle of Óbidos

The Castle of Óbidos is a well-preserved medieval castle located in the civil parish of Santa Maria, São Pedro e Sobral da Lagoa, in the municipality of Óbidos, Portuguese district of Leiria.HistoryÓbidos had its foundation in the existence of a fortified settlement, likely over the Luso-Roman castro and Roman oppidum (then civitas) on the hilltop, that was the mysterious Eburobrittium, once cited by Pliny the Elder as being situated between Collipo (near present-day Leiria) and Olisipo (Lisbon). Archeological surveys later resulted in the discovery of a forum, baths and other Roman structures near the settlement. The area was later settled by the Lusitanos (since the 4th century BC) and Romans in the first century, but later occupied by Visigoths during the 5th and 6th century and Muslims, who were responsible for fortifying the town in the 8th century.