Castelo Church Tower

Bell Tower of the Church of Santa Cruz do Castelo

In the Bairro do Castelo, the Church of Santa Cruz do Castelo is an eighteenth-century building standing on the site of the original twelfth-century church, built where an old mosque once stood. According to tradition, after the conquest of Lisbon in 1147 the mosque was consecrated by the Archbishop of Braga, D. João Peculiar, so that the procession of D. Afonso Henriques could enter it with a relic of the Holy Cross, now displayed inside. The church has a single nave, with three chapels on each side in Baroque, Pombaline and Neoclassical styles, keeps the oldest parish registers in the city, dating from 1536, and is linked to the cult of Saint George. The bell tower, rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, rests on a tower of the wall of the Alcáçova of São Jorge Castle and is one of the highest points of old Lisbon. Closed and neglected for several years, it reopened on 7 June 2018 as a viewpoint, on the initiative of Father Edgar Clara and the company Signinum. Entry is through the former mortuary chapel; fifty steps lead up to the view over São Vicente de Fora, Alfama, Graça and the Tagus, and the visit includes the exhibition "Há vida no Bairro do Castelo", in the upper choir, and a multimedia room.

Located at: Igreja do Castelo
Address: Largo de Santa Cruz do Castelo, 15, 1100-060 Lisboa
Opening hours: April to October 10:00-18:30; November to March 9:00-18:00 (closed on 25 December and 1 January)
Phone: +351 215 806 032
Coordinates: 38.7137169, -9.132169
Buses: 10B, 737, 734, 797, 13B, 711, 732, 759, 760, 736
Tram: 12E, 28E
Metro: Martim Moniz (Green), Rossio (Green)
Train: Sintra Line, Rossio Station
Boat: Terreiro do Paço River Station
Opened: 2018 (8 years)