Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Vila do Bispo, in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has its ...

, southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

History

Cape St. Vincent was already sacred ground in

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

times, as standing

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

s in the neighborhood attest. The

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

called it

Ophiussa Ophiussa, also spelled Ophiusa, is the ancient name given by the ancient Greeks to what is now Portuguese territory near the mouth of the river Tagus. It means Land of Serpents. The expulsion of the ''Oestrimni'' The 4th century Roman poet Ruf ...

(Land of Serpents), inhabited by the

Oestriminis In Latin poetry Oestreminis ("Extreme West") was a name given to the territory of what is today modern Portugal and Galicia, comparable to ''Finis terrae'', the "end of the earth" from a Mediterranean perspective. Its inhabitants were named Oestri ...

and dedicated here a temple to

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

. The Romans called it ''Promontorium Sacrum'' (or Holy Promontory). Strabo, in his ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

'' calls this cape the most western tip of the known world and reports the place was considered magical. Common people believed the sun sank here hissing into the ocean, marking the edge of their world, which Strabo qualifies as "common and vulgar reports" and attributes to

Posidonius Posidonius (; grc-gre, wikt:Ποσειδώνιος, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apamea (Syria), Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geog ...

According to legend, the current name of this cape is linked to the story of a martyred fourth-century Iberian

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

St. Vincent whose body was brought ashore here. A shrine was erected over his grave; according to the Arab

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Al-Idrisi, it was always guarded by

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned ...

s and is therefore named by him كنيسة الغراب (''Kanīsah al-Ghurāb'', meaning "Church of the Raven"). King

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 i ...

(1139–1185) had the body of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to Lisbon, still accompanied by the ravens. This transfer of the relics is depicted on the coat of arms of Lisbon. All existing buildings—including the ''Vila do Infante'' of

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

—fell into ruins because of the

Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

of 1755. The

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

s who cared for the shrine stayed on until 1834, when all monasteries were disbanded in Portugal.

Naval battles

Several naval battles have been fought in the vicinity of this cape: * In 1337, a Castilian fleet defeated a Portuguese fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1337). * In 1606, a Spanish fleet defeated a Dutch fleet in the

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1606) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a naval engagement that took place on 6 October 1606, John Lothrop Motley, ''History of the United Netherlands, From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Years' Truce, 1609'', volume 11 (Harper & Brot ...

. * In 1641, a Spanish fleet fought with a Dutch fleet in the

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1641) The Battle of Cape St Vincent of 1641 took place on 4 November 1641 when a Spanish fleet commanded by Don Juan Alonso de Idiáquez y Robles intercepted a Dutch fleet led by Artus Gijsels during the Eighty Years' War. After a fierce battle two ...

. * In 1681, a Spanish fleet defeated a Brandenburger fleet in the

action of 30 September 1681 The action of 30 September 1681 was a 2-hour fight that took place on 30 September 1681 near Cape St Vincent, and was a victory for the Spanish over Brandenburg, which suffered 10 dead and 30 wounded. The Action The Brandenburg squadron, m ...

. * In 1693, a French fleet defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet in the Battle of Lagos (1693). * In 1719, a Spanish fleet defeated a British fleet in the

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1719) The Battle of Cape St Vincent was a minor naval engagement of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, fought on 20 December 1719 near Cape St. Vincent between a squadron of two British ships of the line and a frigate, under Commodore Philip Cavendish ...

. * In 1751, a Spanish fleet defeated an Algerian fleet in the

action of 28 November 1751 The action of 28 November 1751 was a naval engagement off Cape St. Vincent between a squadron of two Enlightenment in Spain, Spanish ships of the line under Captain (naval), captain Pedro Fitz-James Stuart and an Ottoman Algeria, Algerine squadr ...

. * In 1780, a British fleet defeated a Spanish fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780). * In 1797, a British fleet defeated a Spanish fleet in the

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797) was one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808), as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, where a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a greatly superior ...

. * In 1833, a Loyalist fleet defeated a Miguelite fleet in the

Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833) The Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a naval encounter off Cape St. Vincent between a Liberal fleet under the command of British naval officer Charles Napier against a Miguelite fleet under the command of Portuguese naval officer Manuel Marrei ...

Geography

This cape is the southwesternmost point in Portugal. It forms the southwestern end of the E9 European Coastal Path, which runs for to

Narva-Jõesuu Narva-Jõesuu (; russian: Усть-Нарва, ''Ust'-Narva'', Нарва-Йыэсуу, Усть-Нарова) is a town in Ida-Viru County, in northeastern Estonia. Geography It is located on the country's northern Baltic coast of the Gulf o ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

. Approximately six kilometers from the village of Sagres, the cape is a landmark for a ship traveling to or from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

. The cliffs rise nearly vertically from the Atlantic to a height of 75 meters. The cape is a site of exuberant marine life and a high concentration of birds nesting on the cliffs, such as the rare

Bonelli's eagle The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey ( raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey ...

kites A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face ...

, rock thrushes,

rock pigeon The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia dome ...

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons a ...

s and

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

. The present lighthouse is high and was built over the ruins of a 16th-century

convent in 1846. The statues of St. Vincent and St.

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...

had been moved to church of Nossa Senhora da Graça on Point Sagres away. This lighthouse, guarding one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, is among the most powerful in Europe (the most powerful being Phare du Creach on the French island of

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of gover ...

, off the coast of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

); its two 1,000 W lamps can be seen as far as away.

Climate

Cape St. Vincent has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

with very low seasonal variation and high occurrence of fogs.

Gallery

File:Cape St. Vincent (1879) - TIMEA.jpg, An 1879 sketch of the St. Vincent lighthouse File:Cabo Sao Vicente (25581534256).jpg, The cliffs of the St. Vincent coast File:Algarve_coast.jpg, An aerial view of the southwestern St. Vincent coast File:Cape St. Vincent Lighthouse.jpg, Cape St. Vincent lighthouse

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Geography of the Algarve Sao Vicente, Cabo de Sao Vicente, Cabo de Locations in Greek mythology Tourist attractions in the Algarve