Almeida () is a fortified village and a municipality in the sub-region of

Beira Interior Norte Beira Interior Norte () is a former Portuguese subregion (NUTS level 3) in the Centro Region. It was abolished at the January 2015 NUTS 3 revision.Guarda, Portugal. The town proper has a population of 1,300 people (2011). The municipality population in 2011 was 7,242, in an area of . It is located in Riba-Côa river valley. The present Mayor is António Baptista Ribeiro, elected by the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. The municipal holiday is July 2.

Location

The village lies west of the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and straddles the N332 road.Tourist & Motoring Atlas – Spain & Portugal. Publisher: Michelin Edition 2014. Work: page 42. The Rio Côa run northwards a short distance to the west of the village. The town's castle fortress was completed in 1641 and is located to the north of the village and is approached through the two tunnel gates and dry moat named the ''Portas de São Francisco''.

Twin town

Mutzig Mutzig ( or ; german: Mützig) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est, in north-eastern France. The commune of Mutzig is located at the entrance of the Bruche river valley, on the Route des Vins d'Alsace. History Evidences of h ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

In and around the environment of Almeida, evidence of Human occupation can be found back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

. Evidence has also been found of Roman occupation followed by the

Suevi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

and the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

. The first fortification constructed in the settlement were constructed by the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

who occupied the village until Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was during this time that the current name was first used, in the form of the Arabic المائدة ''al-Ma'ida'' ('the table').

Sancho I, ''The Populator''

The village of Almeida was captured from the Moors by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I in the 12th century because of its strategic position on the new country of Portugal's border with Spain. So important to the security of the country, Sancho had the village heavily fortified. The castle was refortified on three further occasions by King Dinis,

King Manuel I Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as ...

and by King João VI. The present 12 pointed

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

ification was constructed in 1641 to a Vaubanesque plan on which the French military engineer is believed to have personally worked, during the castle's final stages of completion.

Spanish occupation

During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(1754 to 1763) which involved most of the great powers of Europe,

with the help of

launched an attack on Portugal due to its alliance with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. As a result of the invasion Almeida was captured by Spain in 1762.

Almeida Fortress

The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from

, and underwent several sieges. The siege of 1810, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

,The Peninsular War. Author: Esdaile, Charles. Publisher:Penguin Books, 2002 Edition. Work:Chapter 12, Torres Vedras, Pagr 323, reference to the explosion . ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders and destroying most of the town.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 16 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 ...

''): * Almeida * Amoreira, Parada e Cabreira * Azinhal, Peva e Vale Verde * Castelo Bom * Castelo Mendo, Ade, Monte Perobolço e Mesquitela * Freineda * Freixo * Junça e Naves * Leomil, Mido, Senouras e Aldeia Nova * Malhada Sorda * Malpartida e Vale de Coelha * Miuzela e Porto de Ovelha * Nave de Haver * São Pedro de Rio Seco * Vale da Mula *

Vilar Formoso Vilar Formoso is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Almeida, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,219, in an area of 15.14 km2. One of the most important crossings on the Portugal–Spain border is located just next to the to ...

Notable people

António Ginestal Machado António Ginestal Machado (3 May 1873 – 28 June 1940; ) was a Portuguese politician. He was born in Almeida, graduated in Law at the University of Coimbra and became a high-school teacher. A member of the moderate Republican Union, he was o ...

(1873 in Almeida – 1940) a politician, 87th

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal ( pt, primeiro-ministro; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, ...

in 1923 * Pedro Zaz (born 1978 in Almeida) a Portuguese New-Media artist * José P. Peixoto (born 1922 in Miuzela) a Portuguese meteorologist

References

External links

Municipality official websitePhotos from Almeida
{{Authority control Municipalities of Guarda District Towns in Portugal