Castro Marim on the Guadiana

Castro Marim is known as a border town on the Guadiana, facing Ayamonte, whose castle and fort made it the Algarve's most important stronghold. Read on for Phoenician and Roman trade, a castle of the Order of Christ, traditional salt and flor de sal, and Portugal's first nature reserve.

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Castro Marim is a border town in the Algarve, on the right bank of the River Guadiana, facing Ayamonte across the water. According to the town council, since Phoenician times boats sheltered here on their way upriver to collect ore from the mines of Alcoutim and Mértola, and the port of Baesuris traded goods from across the Mediterranean, a role that continued under the Romans. The town was taken from the Moors by Paio Peres Correia in 1242, and Afonso III granted it a charter in 1277.

The Castelo Velho, with its square plan and four round corner towers, dates from 1274, and the outer medieval wall followed in 1279. The castle served as the seat of the Order of Christ between 1319 and 1356, when the order moved to Tomar, and it has been a national monument since 1910. From 1421, under João I, the town was a place of refuge for convicts, who worked mainly in the salt pans. After the Restoration of 1640, João IV ordered the Forte de São Sebastião, begun in 1641 and a national monument since 2012, and the Revelim de Santo António, built to control shipping on the river; together they made Castro Marim the most important stronghold in the Algarve. The earthquake of 1 November 1755 left only one wall of the old Igreja de Santiago standing, and the founding of Vila Real de Santo António in 1774 cost the town its former standing.

The first written references to its salt pans appear in the charter of Afonso III, and in 1453 Prince Henry, governor of the Order of Christ, ordered that salt for preserving fish should come from Castro Marim. Traditional salt and flor de sal production revived at the end of the 1990s. The pans lie within the Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António, created in 1975 as the first nature reserve in Portugal and recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The guitarist Paco de Lucía named an album "Castro Marín" in honour of his mother, Lúcia Gomes, who came from the town.

Craft beer in Castro Marim is a rare find on this stretch of the Guadiana. Keep an eye out for something local after a walk around the castle walls and the salt marshes.

Breweries in Castro Marim

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Frequently asked questions

Castro Marim is a border town in the Algarve, on the right bank of the River Guadiana, facing Ayamonte across the water. According to the town council, boats sheltered here from Phoenician times on their way upriver to the mines of Alcoutim and Mértola, and its port of Baesuris traded goods from across the Mediterranean.

The old castle, with a square plan and four round corner towers, dates from 1274 and was the seat of the Order of Christ from 1319 to 1356. After 1640 João IV added a fort and a ravelin to control river shipping, making the town the Algarve's most important stronghold. Both castle and fort are national monuments.

Its salt pans are first mentioned in the charter of Afonso III, and in 1453 Prince Henry ordered that salt for preserving fish should come from here. From 1421 convicts sent to the town worked mainly in the salt pans. Traditional salt and flor de sal production revived at the end of the 1990s.

The salt pans lie within a nature reserve of salt marshes shared with Vila Real de Santo António. Created in 1975, it was the first nature reserve in Portugal and is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The salt pans' first written references go back to the charter of Afonso III.