Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
, in the central part of continental
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 20,855,
[Instituto Nacional de Estatística]
/ref> in an area of 234.52 km².
History
Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospital has Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
settlements, Visigothic
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 kno ...
relics, noble Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
mansions as well as ancient villages built of slate. One can find 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 parts ...
and 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 ...
burial grounds and genuine religious and rural relics such as the large granite outcroppings used as threshing floors, the Holy Cross Church and the Ferreiros Chapel, a Roman Gothic style temple dating to the 13th century and the Church of Sao Gião, known as the cathedral of its region due to its richly carved and painted 18th century Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
interior.
Geography
It is located at the northern edge of the district of Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela Mountains, bisected by the Alva and Alvoco River valleys. 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 ...
''):
* Aldeia das Dez
* Alvoco das Várzeas
* Avô
Avô is a civil parish in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital
Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, in an area of 234.52 km² ...
* Bobadela
* Ervedal e Vila Franca da Beira
* Lagares
* Lagos da Beira e Lajeosa
* Lourosa
* Meruge
* Nogueira do Cravo
* Oliveira do Hospital e São Paio de Gramaços
* Penalva de Alva e São Sebastião da Feira
* Santa Ovaia e Vila Pouca da Beira
Santa Ovaia e Vila Pouca da Beira is a civil parish in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital
Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, i ...
* São Gião
São Gião is a parish (''freguesia'' in Portuguese), in the North of Portugal, on Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in Portugal. It belongs to the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, and the district (''distrito'') of Coimbra. The pop ...
* Seixo da Beira
* Travanca de Lagos
Economy
Its fertile geographic position favors agriculture, which is the dominant activity of the region with wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
and cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
s being important products. Regarding its business sector, confections, machine tools, packaging and toys are the most important. Oliveira do Hospital is known for its natural environment, cuisine, arts and crafts.
Transport
Although Oliveira do Hospital is well within the interior of the country, transportation services are quite adequate and have been increasing as befits a growing region. There are a number of roads to the coast and other cities, the best known being the scenic Estrada da Beira.
The Bridge with Three Entrances (Ponte das Três Entradas), a very rare three-way bridge, crosses the Alva River at Oliveira do Hospital.
Notable people
* Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas
Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas (Avô, Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal, 3 February 1596 - Avô, Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal, 8 August 1656) was a Portuguese soldier, poet and writer, author of the poem '' Viriato Trágico''.
During his youth, he tr ...
(1596 in Avô - 1656 in Avô) soldier, poet and writer.
* Dulce Pássaro
Dulce Pássaro (born 1953) is a Portuguese engineer and politician. She was Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning in Portugal between October 2009 and June 2011. Education
Dulce dos Prazeres Fidalgo Álvaro Pássaro was born in the munici ...
(born 1953 in Oliveira do Hospital) an engineer, politician and Govt. Minister, 2009/2011
* Carlos Martins (born 1982 in Oliveira do Hospital) footballer with 327 club caps and 17 for 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 ...
* Tomané Nunes
António Manuel 'Tomané' Nunes Ferreira (born 15 January 1987 in Nogueira do Cravo, Oliveira do Hospital) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
A product of Sporting Clube de Portugal's prolific youth system, N ...
(born 1987 in Nogueira do Cravo) a retired footballer with 119 club caps
* João Martins (born 1988 in Oliveira do Hospital) footballer with 199 club caps
References
External links
Photos from Oliveira do Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira Do Hospital
Cities in Portugal
Populated places in Coimbra District
Municipalities of Coimbra District