The old district capital of Guarda (altitude: 1057m/3468ft), the see of a bishop and once an important stronghold in the province of Beira Alta, lies on a plateau in the northeast of the Serra da Estrela. As Portugal's highest town, with a healthy and very pleasant climate, it has become a popular health resort.
History
There was already a
stongly fortified town on this strategically important site in Roman times. In 80 B.C. it sided with Quintus Sertorius in his attempt to break away from Rome, and thereafter withstood many years of assaults and sieges by Caesar's forces. After the town was devastated by the Moors its inhabitants fled and the remaining buildings became derelict. Much later, in the 12th and 13th C., Guarda was rebuilt by Sancho I and Dinis I and strongly fortified against attack by the Moors and Castilians.
Townscape
At first sight the town, built largely of granite, has a rather gray appearance, but a closer look reveals finely decorated old patrican houses, particularly in the Cathedral Square and the Rua de Dom Luis I. Of the town's 12th and 13th C. fortifications there remain the keep, three town gates and parts of the town walls.
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