Silves

Silves stands beside the Arade in the Algarve, beneath a castle of red sandstone. Known as Xelb under Muslim rule, it was praised by medieval geographers as a splendid city. In 1189 Sancho I, aided by crusaders, captured it after a hard siege; the Almohads retook it in 1191 and strengthened its walls and water supply. Christian forces recovered Silves in the 1240s, and Afonso III granted the city a charter in 1266. The Gothic cathedral was built after the conquest, and Silves became the seat of the Algarve's bishop. In the sixteenth century the diocese moved to Faro as the silting of the Arade and the growing importance of the coast diminished the inland city's position.