Silves (), officially the City of Silves (), is a city and

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' ...

in the Portuguese region of

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, in southern Portugal. The population of the entire municipality of Silves in 2011 was 37,126, in an area of 680.06 km². The urbanized area of the city proper has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Silves is the former capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve (1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

(1139–1910), and is of great historical importance.

History

The region of Silves has been inhabited since the

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

, as attested by archaeological remains, including several

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s. The river Arade, which was navigable in historical times, linked the hinterland to the open ocean and allowed the transport of produce and commerce. The town of Silves (''Cilpes'') was possibly founded during the times of Roman domination, when the region was part of the

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

province. It was probably a Lusitanian Castro in pre-Roman times; however the region was also settled by other Indo-European tribes, such as the Celtici and Cynetes (or Conii). Silves was once also part of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

(418–c. 721). After 713, when the Moors invaded Iberia, Silves became part of the Umayyad

Emirate of Córdoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

under the Arabic name of ''Shilb'' (شلب). In the 10th century it was one of the most important towns in western

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

. Silves became an independent taifa in 1027 under the rule of Ibn Mozaine and his son, who was dethroned in 1051 by al-Mu'tadid, the governor of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, the son of al-Mu'tadid and a famous poet, ruled the taifa of Silves until 1091. After the Almoravid conquest the town became

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

in 1156. In 1189, King

Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I (born ; Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) also referred to as Sancho the Populator (), was King of Portugal from 1185 until his death in 1211. He was the second king of Portugal. Sancho was the second but only surviving legitimat ...

conquered the town with the aid of Northern European crusaders. Sancho ordered the fortification of the city and built a castle, which is today an important monument of Portuguese heritage. At the time he also styled himself "By the Grace of God, King of Portugal and Silves (''Dei Gratiæ, Rex Portugalliæ et Silbis''). However, he soon lost the town again to the Almohads after sieges in 1190 and 1191. Periodic raiding expeditions were sent from

to ravage the Iberian Christian kingdoms, bringing back booty and slaves. The governor of Córdoba attacked Silves in 1191, and took 3,000 Christian slaves. In 1197, the city was attacked by German crusaders, but did not permanently change hands. The town was finally taken from the last Muslim king Ibn Afan by Paio Peres Correia, Grand-Master of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

in 1242, after the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

and most of the coast had already fallen in 1238. The great

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

was changed into Silves Cathedral (''Sé Catedral''). Silves declined in importance thereafter and was eclipsed in the region by Faro during the colonial period. In 1491, the town of Silves was given to queen Eleanora by her husband, king

John II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...

. In the 19th century, Silves became an important centre for the Portuguese cork industry. The industry's decline began after cork factory workers, instigated by

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

organizations resorting to coercion at gunpoint, supported the failed Portuguese general strike of 1934, after which the authoritarian '' Estado Novo'' regime retaliated by effectively closing down the industry in the town. In the 21st century, the municipality became host to the Iberian Lynx National Breeding Center (Silves' Center).

Sights

Parts of the Almohad town wall, constructed from poured concrete, have been preserved, as well as the Almedina-gate (Porta de Loulé). Other sights include the Santa Misericórdia Church with a fine door in

Manueline The Manueline (, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manueline architecture inco ...

style (the main body of the church was built in 1727–28); a museum for cork and the production of bottle corks in a defunct factory which is now also a centre for cultural events called
Fábrica do Inglês
(The Englishman's Factory); and the municipal museum (Museu Municipal de Arqueologia) with findings from the

palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

onwards. The town is situated on a hill above the Arade River. Silves Castle is located on the top of the hill. It occupies ca. 12,000 m². Archaeological excavations have shown that the oldest buildings date back to the 8th century, the

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

is almost 6 m deep and contains

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

remains as well. Silves Castle is widely regarded as the finest example of Arab military architecture in Portugal. The walls are made of red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

(grés de Silves) with a pisé-core and were heavily restored in the 1940s. Protruding towers of the albarra-type protect the Northern slope. After the Christian conquest, the castle served as the seat of the alcaide-mor (provincial governor) until the middle of the 16th century; afterwards the towers were used as a prison. Silves Cathedral was built in 1189 where an old mosque used to stand. It combines

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and Gothic styles. Inside there are tombs of local bishops and dignitaries, as well as tombs of some of the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

who fought here against the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

all those years ago. Igreja da Misericórdia de Silves is church across from the cathedral with specific door from the 16th century in the Manueline style. It is placed halfway up the building. Inside the church is huge altarpiece from the 17th century. The Roman Bridge, or Ponte Romana Bridge holds a significant place in history. It is believed to have been built back when the Romans were in charge. This sturdy stone bridge stretches right over the Rio Arade, standing as a strong reminder of

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...

. Opened in 1990, the Silves Municipal Archaeological Museum is located just below Silves Cathedral and Silves Castle. The museum is built over an 18-meter-deep, 4-meter-wide well that dates from the Almohad establishment of the city in the 11th century. The site was formerly occupied by a 19th-century residence before the building was demolished to form the museum. Cruz de Portugal is a significant religious monument encapsulating Silves’ Christian history. It is crafted from white limestone and adorned with intricate carvings, its exact origins are unknown, with estimates placing it from the late 14th to the late 15th century. It is widely believed to have been gifted to Silves by D. Manuel I in 1499. The cross, standing at 3 meters and showcasing

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

crucified and a

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

, is an example of

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. Over the years, the cross has moved around the city, settling in its current 19th-century location in 1957, surrounded by a garden.

Geography

The municipality is crossed by the Arade River, which was navigable in historical times and was key to the prosperity of the city of Silves. The waters of the river form the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

s of Arade and Funcho. The landscape of the municipality is generally hilly. To the south the municipality borders the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Silves is built on top of one of the largest

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

s in the south of Portugal, The Querença-Silves Aquife

and has many orange groves, a fruit introduced by the Moors. Silves is about 15 kilometers north of the nearest stretch of Algarve coast, 20 kilometers northeast of

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

and 62 kilometers northwest of Faro International Airport by road.

Climate

Silves has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa'') with hot, very dry summers and mild, wet winters. The climate in the municipality of Silves is slightly more continentalized than the Algarvian coast, leading temperatures to be higher during the day and lower during the night in every season of the year. Temperatures in the winter vary between during the day and at night. Temperatures in the summer vary between during the day and at night.

Human geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 6 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Alcantarilha e Pêra * Algoz e Tunes * Armação de Pêra * São Bartolomeu de Messines * São Marcos da Serra * Silves

Economy

The activities linked to the secondary sector play a very important role in the municipality's economy. The cork and extractive industries are the main activities. The

extractive industry Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

emerged in the Metal Age and is linked to the beginning of an old tradition in

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

in the area, and the cork industry, implemented in the second half of the nineteenth century, triggered the economic and urban development of Silves. The agricultural area occupies about 10.3% of the municipality, being typical the cultivation of cereals for grain, nuts, citrus fruits including famed orange orchards, meadows, permanent pastures, fallow and olive groves. The municipality of Silves, where important part of the Algarve's citrus fruit production is concentrated, has created an Orange Route (''Rota da Laranja''), with different routes through the area. The Orange Route provides the visitor with several suggestions and agents that allow them to build a route that covers all stages of orange production, from the orchard to its packaging. This route has partnerships with some local producers who are available to welcome the public and provide several experiences in their orchards. There visitors can find gastronomic, cultural, landscape, accommodation, thematic itineraries, among other experiences. As for livestock, poultry, sheep and pigs stand out as the main species raised. Silves has a low forest density, little over 15% (15.1%) of the usable agricultural area, corresponding to 11,187 hectares. The city of Silves proper attracts many visitors due to its ancient castle and other urban attractions. The annual Medieval Fair in the historical neighborhoods of Silves near the castle is one of the biggest and most visited summer festivals in the Algarve. Near the coast, in Armação de Pêra and its beaches, tourism is very important during summertime in terms of number of visitors and revenue.

Education

The city has kindergartens and elementary schools. Besides the local state-run

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, '' Deutsche Schule Algarve'', a German international school, is also in the municipality of Silves, as well as a branch of the Instituto Piaget, a higher education institution.

Notable people

Muhammad ibn Ammar Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAmmār al-Quḍā'ī (;1031–1086), known as Ibn Ammar, in Spanish sources found as Abenámar, was an Arab poet from Silves. Ibn Ammar became vizier to the ''taifa'' of Seville. Though ...

(1031–1086), Muwallad poet from Silves. *

Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi Abūʾl-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Qasī (died 1151) was a Sufi, a rebel leader against the Almoravid dynasty in Al-Garb Al-Andalus and governor of Silves for the Almohads. The main sources for his life are Ibn al-Abbār, Ibn al-Kha� ...

(died 1151),

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

rebel leader and governor of Silves for the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

* João de Deus (c.1190–1267), canon law jurist and priest *

João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in t ...

(1830–1896), poet and editor, wrote the didactic book '' Cartilha Maternal'' in 1876 *

Corina Freire Corina Freire (1897 – 1986), was a Portuguese singer, actress and impresario. Early life Corina Carlos Freire was born on 14 December 1897 in Silves in the Algarve region of Portugal. She was the illegitimate daughter of João José Freire, a ...

(1897–?1975?), Portuguese singer, actress and impresario. Corina Freire, IMDb Database
retrieved 07 June 2021. *

Bernardo Marques Bernardo Loureiro Marques ( Silves, 1898 - Lisbon, 1962), was a Portuguese painter, illustrator, graphic artist and caricaturist. He was one of the most relevant Portuguese artists of his generation.José Augusto França includes Marques in the ...

(1898–1962), painter, illustrator, graphic artist and caricaturist * Maria Keil (1914–2012), artist and illustrator, known for her painting, drawing and tapestry * José Vitoriano (1918–2006), politician and a major player in the 1974 overthrow of the Portuguese ruling regime *

Maria Cavaco Silva Maria Alves da Silva Cavaco Silva (born 19 March 1938) is the wife of Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the 19th President of the Portuguese Republic and, as such, was the First Lady of Portugal from 2006 until 2016. A professor of Portuguese Language a ...

(born 1938), First Lady of Portugal from 2006 to 2016 * Amélia Veiga (born 1932), Portuguese-born

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n poet and teacher * Rui Bento (born 1972), football manager and former professional footballer with 321 club caps * Aurea (born 1987), Portuguese soul singer originally from Santiago do Cacém, Alentejo, who grew up in Silves, Algarve

Gallery

File:Ponte_de_Silves.26-04-18.jpg, Silves's medieval bridge File:Igreja_da_misericórdia_-_Silves_26-04-2018.jpg, Misericórdia church File:Silves_-_Rua_Dr._Francisco_Vieira_03.2018.jpg, Francisco Vieira Street, close to the castle File:Silves_-_vista_geral_03.2018.jpg, View of Silves from the Museum of Archaeology File:Rua_25_de_Abril_-_Silves_-_22.10.2019.jpg, Silves seen from rua 25 de Abril File:Silves_-_vista_do_castelo_4_03.2018.jpg, The new part of Silves seen from the Castle File:Via Algarviana footpath near Silves, Portugal (PPL3-Altered) julesvernex2-2.jpg, Via Algarviana footpath near Silves File:Catedral de Silves.JPG, The historical Cathedral of Silves with

portico File:Rua em Silves.JPG, A street in Silves

References

External links

55 Photographs of Silves
{{Authority control Silves, Portugal, Cities in Portugal Populated places in Faro District Municipalities of the Algarve Towns of the Algarve Municipalities of Faro District