Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress of Badajoz, by the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

- Badajoz- Lisbon railway. The municipality population was 23,078, in an area of . The city itself had a population of 16,640 . Elvas is among the finest examples of intensive usage of the ''trace italienne'' ( star fort) in military architecture, and has been a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

since 30June 2012. The inscribed site name is Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications.

History

Elvas lies on a hill northwest of the Guadiana river. The

Amoreira Aqueduct The Amoreira Aqueduct () is a 16th-century aqueduct (begun in 1537) that spans the Portuguese municipality of Elvas, bringing water into the fortified seat. History By around 1498, the only fountain and source of potable water since the Mooris ...

long supplies the city with pure water; it was begun early in the 15th century and completed in 1622. For some distance it includes four tiers of superimposed arches, with a total height of . It was wrested from the Moors by

Afonso I of Portugal 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 in ...

in 1166 but was temporarily recaptured before its final occupation by the Portuguese in 1226. In 1570 it became an episcopal see, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Elvas The Roman Catholic Diocese of Elvas was a Latin diocese in Portugal, located in the city Elvas, district of Portalegre in the Alentejo region and in the ecclesiastical province of Évora.Gothic Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, which has many traces of Moorish influence in its architecture, dates from the reign of

Manuel I of Portugal 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 Portuga ...

(1495–1521). It was defended by seven bastions and the two forts of Santa Luzia and the Nossa Senhora da Graça Fort. From 1642 it was the chief frontier fortress south of the Tagus, which withstood sieges by the Spanish in 1659, 1711, and 1801. Elvas was the site of the Battle of the Lines of Elvas in 1659, during which the garrison and citizens of the city assisted in the rout of a Spanish Army. The Napoleonic French under Marshal Junot took it in March 1808 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 ...

, but evacuated it in August after the conclusion of the Convention of Sintra. The fortress of Campo Maior to the northeast is known for its

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

siege by the French and relief by the British under

Marshal Beresford General (British Army), General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and ...

in 1811, an exploit commemorated in a ballad by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

UNESCO site

The Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications were added to the list of

UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 2012. The site, extensively fortified from the 17th to 19th centuries, represents the largest bulwarked dry ditch system in the world. Within its walls, the town contains barracks and other military buildings as well as churches and

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. While Elvas contains remains dating back to the 10th century, its fortification began during the Portuguese Restoration War. The fortifications played a major role in the Battle of the Lines of Elvas in 1659. The fortifications were designed by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Jesuit Padre João Piscásio Cosmander and represent the best surviving example of the Dutch school of fortifications anywhere. The site consists the following: #

, built to withstand long sieges. # Historic Centre # and the covered way # Nossa Senhora da Graça Fort # Fortlet of São Mamede # # Fortlet of São Domingos

Climate

Civil Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided in seven civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Assunção, Ajuda, Salvador e Santo Ildefonso * Barbacena e Vila Fernando * Caia, São Pedro e Alcáçova * Santa Eulália * São Brás e São Lourenço * São Vicente e Ventosa * Terrugem e Vila Boim

Sister cities

* Badajoz,

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

, Spain * Olivenza,

, Spain * Campo Maior, Alentejo, Portugal

Notable people

* Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (ca. 1555 – 1635) a Portuguese organist and composer. * João de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1780–1856) a politician, a general and twice colonial governor of Cape Verde * José Travassos Valdez, 1st Count of Bonfim (1787–1862) a Portuguese soldier and statesman. * Fortunato José Barreiros (1797–1885) a colonial governor of Cape Verde and military architect. * Adelaide Cabete (1867–1935) a Portuguese feminist and republican. * Virgínia Quaresma (1882–1973) an early radical, feminist, lesbian journalist *

Sofia Pomba Guerra Sofia Pomba Guerra (1906 – 1976) was a Portuguese feminist and opponent of the ''Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo'' government in Portugal. She was active in the anti-colonial movements of Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. Early life Maria Sofia ...

(1906–1976) a feminist, opponent of the Estado Novo government in Portugal and an activist in the anti-colonial movements of Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. *

José António Rondão Almeida José António Rondão Almeida ComIH (born in Elvas) is a Portuguese politician. He is Mayor (president of the Municipal Chamber) of Elvas since 27 September 2021. He was also Mayor between 4 January 1993 and 12 October 2013 (reelected in 1997 ...

(born 1945) a Portuguese politician & Mayor of Elvas * Toni Vidigal (born 1975), Jorge Vidigal (born 1978) & André Vidigal (born 1998) Angolan football brothers * Raquel Guerra (born 1985) a Portuguese singer and actress. Raquel Guerra, IMDb Database
retrieved 16 July 2021. *

Henrique Sereno Henrique Sereno Fonseca (born 18 May 1985), known as Sereno, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Guimarães Born in Elvas, Alto Alentejo, Sereno joined Vitória de Guimarães for 2005� ...

(born 1985) a Portuguese former footballer with 236 club caps

Gallery

File:Elvas September 2013-40.jpg, Entrance of the Municipal Library of Elvas File:Elvas-Pelourinho-CCBYSA.jpg, A pillory in the city of Elvas File:Elvas Station, Alentejo, Portugal.jpg, Elvas Station File:Arco em Elvas.jpg, Typical features File:Elvas Castle, Alentejo, Portugal, 29 September 2005-2.jpg,

Castle of Elvas The Castle of Elvas ( pt, Castelo de Elvas) is a medieval military fortification in Portugal, in the civil parish of Alcáçova, municipality of Elvas, part of a first line of defense in the Portuguese Alentejo, in conjunction with the militar ...

File:Elvas e muralhas.jpg, City walls File:Elvas Castle, Alentejo, Portugal, 29 September 2005.jpg,

File:Elvas_(30792921230).jpg, Elvas, Portugal File:Elvas aqueduct.jpg,

File:Largo de Santa Clara - Elvas.jpg, Square of Santa Clara File:Elvas_(30353084113).jpg, Elvas, Alentejo File:BLElvas00.jpg, Monument commemorating the 1659 Battle of the Lines of Elvas

References

External links

UNESCO, Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications
{{authority control Cities in Portugal World Heritage Sites in Portugal Populated places in Portalegre District Municipalities of Portalegre District