Why go
The Moorish Castle and the church of São Pedro de Canaferrim give this political history a physical setting. The castle's surrender after Lisbon fell explains Sintra's entry into the Portuguese kingdom, while the 1154 charter shows how the conquered stronghold became an organized municipality.
The full story
Sintra was contested as control of the Tagus region shifted. In 1093 Alfonso VI of León received the Castle of Sintra together with Lisbon and Santarém, but Sintra and Lisbon soon passed to the Almoravids. Count Henry took the castle again in 1109; even so, the struggle continued. The decisive change came after Afonso Henriques conquered Lisbon in 1147, when Sintra's castle garrison surrendered that November. Afonso founded the church of São Pedro de Canaferrim within the castle walls and granted Sintra a town charter in 1154. The charter established a municipality extending well beyond the present historic center. Early Sintra also included a Sephardic Jewish community with its own quarter and synagogue; the name Judiaria survived in local place naming. Records also mention free Muslim communities, notably at Colares. The conquest is therefore best understood as a change in rule over an existing, varied community.