Zêzere Castle is the only one of the castles built by the Portuguese Templars at the time when D. Gualdim Pais was Master of the Order that has completely disappeared.
It was built in the second half of the 12th century, possibly on top of an older one, due to the documentary reference subsisting in the donation made by King Afonso Henriques in 1169, and was called the Ozêzar Castle.
Located in a strategic place, overlooking the confluence of the Tagus and Zêzere rivers, it was part of the defensive network of the Tagus River, together with the Cardiga and Almourol Castles. It was located near Praia do Ribatejo, in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha.
In 1174, the Order of the Temple granted a charter to the village of Payo Pele, which was next to it, and this is plausibly the date when the castle was rebuilt.
As the castle lost its military usefulness after the territory’s stabilization, it started a progressive degradation process, being “very damaged and most of it demolished” in the beginning of the 16th century.
A temple dedicated to Our Lady of Zêzere (Nossa Senhora do Zêzere) was also built in its surroundings, certainly taking advantage of some of its construction material, which would be demolished from 1911 onwards.
Since there are no chronicles or descriptions about its structure, we can only conjecture about the typological definition and characterisation of the Zêzere Castle, which would surely obey the architectonic model used by D. Gualdim Pais in the other five castles built by his initiative.
Finding itself in an early state of ruin, its built structures were continuously disappearing. Currently, only a few vestiges of wall panels remain, next to the cemetery of Praia do Ribatejo.