A dos Francos is one of twelve civil parishes (''
freguesias
''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...
'') in the municipality of
Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and of the Comunidad ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The population in 2011 was 1,701,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of 18.93 km².
History
The history and toponymy of this parish can be traced back to the French; the name, itself, evokes French ownership or dominion of this area. ''A dos French'' literally means ''of the French''.[Secretariado da Propaganda Nacional (1966), p.146] In fact, it was Afonso Henriques
Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...
, who had a hand in its nomenclature; in order to reward mercenary French crusaders who assisted his early campaigns, Afonso Henriques distributed some lands along the margins of the Tagus, living behind names that only hint at French influence, including Vila Franca and A dos Francos.[
The ''Chapel of the Holy Spirit'' was constructed by the Crusaders during the 12th century, who fell within the territorial influence of Óbidos.]Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
, who also received complementary immigrants from Flanders, who populated the northern parts of the Tagus.
In 1747, the population of this village included twelve homes. By 1853, the parish had amassed a small cluster of 101 homes.
Architecture
Civic
* Carriage Post/Station of Casal dos Carreiros ( pt, Estação da Mala-Posta do Casal dos Carreiros), constructed in the 19th century, accompanying the building of the Lisbon-Porto carriage traffic, this building served as a hostel for travellers, serving meals and providing sleeping spaces and fireplace for use in the winter months
Religious
* Chapel of the Holy Spirit ( pt, Capela do Espiríto Santo), an eclectic chapel, that was originally constructed by French crusader knights, who inhabited and populated the region;[
* Church of São Silvestre ( pt, Igreja Paroquial de A dos Francos/Igreja de São Silvestre), the 18th century church was constructed in the Baroque style, and includes elaborate gilded wood alterpeice and retable, and singular belfrey, typical of the Portuguese small parish churches of the time;
* Hermitage of Vila Verde do Mato ( pt, Ermida de Vila Verde do Mato), the partially ruined hermitage, constructed in the 17th century, is remarkable for the remnants of decorative polychromatic ocre alterpeice, and construction in the Mannerist architecture of the period.]
Villages
*Broeiras
*Vila Verde de Matos
*Salgueirinha
*Casal Sobreiro
*Carreiros
*Casais de Santa Helena
*Casais da Paraventa
*Santa Susana
*Casais da Aramanha
*Casais da Bica
*Casais Gaiolas
*Casal Pinheiro
*Casal das Sesmarias
*Casal das Cheiras
*Casal da Palmeira
*Casal Val Covo
References
;Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:A Dos Francos
Freguesias of Caldas da Rainha