Castle
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Castelo de Almourol
Castelo de Almourol is a fairytale 12th-century Knights Templar fortress built on a small, rocky island in the middle of the Tagus River near Vila Nova da Barquinha, Portugal. Rebuilt in 1171 by Gualdim Pais, Grand Master of the Knights Templar in Portugal, the castle served as a crucial defensive stronghold along the Reconquista border line. Surrounded by rushing river waters and dense pine forests, Almourol is famous for its romantic and tragic ghosts, most notably the phantom of a Moorish princess and her Templar knight lover whose forbidden romance ended in betrayal, death, and eternal torment on the island ramparts.