Hordes in plastic medieval helmets? Nay!
We have been to quite a few medieval festivals over the years. In fact, there is a large, well-known one in Portugal. Those types of festivals sometimes feel more like sweaty, expensive, congested work than they do entertainment. This is not the experience at Mercado Medieval de Cambra.
Cambra is a small village near Vouzela, and its medieval market is a local affair. It began as a community event, with local associations, residents and schoolchildren involved in bringing the village’s history to life.
It costs just €1 to get in, the crowds are manageable and nobody seems particularly interested in turning it into a social media phenomenon. Sometimes we feel a little guilty for blabbing about discoveries like this.
A foundation for a great medieval market
The location appears in written records as far back as 1002… Uh, that’s when the Byzantine Empire was the biggest European “country” and Constantinople was its greatest metropolis. So Cambra has the pedigree.
The star of the village is the Torre Medieval de Cambra, probably built around the end of the 13th century. It looks like a small defensive tower, but it was actually a fortified home belonging to the local nobility. So Cambra has the centerpiece.
The food and craft stalls are reclaimed wood and canvas, the flags and banners are cloth and the colors are mostly earthy and muted. The word vibe gets overused these days, but it’s the only way to say it. So Cambra has the vibe.
Soak in that medieval energy and sound
The tower is the main stage for most of the entertainment, with musicians, dancers, comedy and other performances running throughout the evening. There are also characters roaming the grounds performing little scenes, so something tends to be happening wherever you are.
And the music… There is nearly always music coming from somewhere: a wooden flute and frame drum here, a lute there. There is no sound system; it’s acoustic and happening in the moment.
A great little market
The Portuguese know how to throw festivals, at times they tend to have the same traditional foods and souvenirs. This festival stands apart. There are plenty of handmade ceramics, hand-stitched items and homemade beer. Most vendors make the effort to sell things that at least belong to the theme… Not a pastel de nata in sight.
We came home with two handmade ceramic beer steins and a medieval coin.
Oh, about that coin…
Have you ever had to buy a book of tickets at a fair? So annoying! You never know how much things cost and end up throwing away leftover tickets.
That is not what’s happening here. Cambra uses its own currency, and there’s real medieval history behind it. Medieval Europe was complicated. Different rulers and territories issued their own coins, and merchants arriving at a market could be carrying money of different weights, metals and values.
Enter the cambista, or money changer. They were crucial to medieval commerce.
Fortunately, the Cambra cambista has set the value of their currency at one-to-one with the euro, and you can exchange back what you don’t use — no exchange fee! In truth, most stalls will take euros, but get the coins. They are there for your entertainment, not their profit. And by the way, the coins are beautiful.
Come hungry
Bottom line on the food, it’s homemade, hearty and tastes great. Our plates were enormous, and together they cost €24. One plate would have been plenty.
Owls, snakes and medieval “air” hockey
The falconry show is one of the bigger attractions and well worth watching. They also bring an interesting collection of animals, birds of prey, including beautiful owls, plus snakes, turtles and hedgehogs! It feels both random and awesome.
The children’s area was an unexpected favorite. It is a grid of homemade table games: simple, clever and surprisingly entertaining. One was essentially medieval air hockey. You flick wooden pucks across an incredibly smooth, polished board and they absolutely fly.
And then the sun goes down 🌄
The Mercado spreads through the old area around the tower, where there is also a small reflecting pool with picture-worthy metal and stone irrigation channels.
By early evening, the temperature drops, the lights begin to come on and the sun starts disappearing behind the tower. This was probably our favorite part of the evening.
There were performers in front of the tower, music somewhere behind us, water running through the old channels and people sitting around eating and drinking. Nobody was rushing anywhere.
And THAT is really what makes Cambra different.
It is certainly photogenic, but it isn’t engineered for tourists or Instagram. The people running stalls, dressing up, cooking and performing are doing it because this is their community and their event. Visitors haven’t overwhelmed it. That’s why the relaxed crowd, €1 admission, inexpensive homemade food and lack of commercial polish are virtues rather than shortcomings.
