São Mamede is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the municipality of Batalha, part of the Central Region and the

Região de Leiria The Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Leiria () is an administrative division in western Portugal. It was created in 2014, replacing the former ''Associação de Municípios da Região de Leiria'' created in 2009. Since January 2015, Região ...

intermunicipal community of

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 ...

. It had a population of 3,560 in 2011 in an area of .

History

The civil parish was created on 15 June 1916 by dismemberment of the parish of Reguengo do Fetal by law of president

Bernardino Machado Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães, GCTE, GCL (; 28 March 1851, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 29 April 1944, Porto, Portugal), was a Portuguese political figure, the third and eighth president of Portugal (1915–17, 1925–26). In 1917, ...

Geography

São Mamede is located 15 km east of the municipality seat, facing the municipalities of

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

Porto de Mós Porto de Mós () is a town and a municipality of Estremadura province in Leiria District. It is in the Centro Region and the Pinhal Litoral subregion. The population in 2011 was 24,342, in an area of 261.83 km². There were archeologic find ...

Ourém Ourém (), formerly known as Vila Nova de Ourém, is a municipality in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 45,932, in an area of 416.68 km2. The municipality of Ourém contains two cities: Ourém (about 12,000 r ...

and the parish of Reguengo do Fetal ( Batalha), and has an approximate area of .

Geology

The parish is located on the São Mamede Plateau, a large compact limestone mass part of the

Estremadura Limestone Massif The Estremadura Limestone Massif (Portuguese: ) is a massif located in central west Portugal. Approximately half of the massif is located within the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park. The massif has an elongated NE-SW direction and englobes ...

and the

Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park (PNSAC) is a natural park in central west Portugal. It occupies an area of and is the most important repository of limestone formations in Portugal with a variety of geological formations associated with ...

. This massif gives the parish a

Karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

, characterized by steep slope valleys,

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s, uvalas,

pit cave A pit cave, shaft cave or vertical cave—or often simply called a pit (in the US) and pothole or pot (in the UK); jama in South Slavic languages scientific and colloquial vocabulary (borrowed since early research in the Western Balkan Dinaric ...

s and other multiple caves. The caves of São Mamede are not only strong tourist attractions, but also constitute a historical and patrimonial legacy of recognized worldwide value.

Demographics

In the 60s and early 70s a large flux of

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

drastically reduced the population. The current population is estimated to be around 3,513.

Economy

Though a predominantly rural parish, São Mamede has seen a considerable development in the recent years. The current economic expression of São Mamede is based on the manufacturing and extractive industries and the civil construction sector, with agricultural activity carried out by a minority or carried out on a part-time basis. Religious and cultural tourism also plays an essential role in the local economy, benefiting São Mamede from a strategic location (axis:

Batalha Monastery The Monastery of Batalha ( pt, Mosteiro da Batalha) is a Dominican convent in the municipality of Batalha, in the district of Leiria, in the Centro Region of Portugal. Originally, and officially, known as the ''Monastery of Saint Mary of the Vi ...

- Fátima Sanctuary), as well as other resources of great interest such as gastronomy, handicrafts and a whole range of other services such as diversified historical, architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, which constitutes a tourist potential duly noted in the various tourist routes in the region of Leiria and Fátima.

Villages

*Barreira de Água *Barreiro Grande *Barreirinho Velho *Casais de São Mamede *Casal do Meio *Casal dos Lobos *Casal Suão *Casal Velho *Casal do Gil *Casal Vieira *Covão da Carvalha *Covão do Espinheiro *Crespos *Demó *Lagoa Ruiva *Lapa Furada *Milheirices *Moita de Ervo *Moita do Martinho *Perulheira *Pessegueiro *Portela das Cruzes / Pia do Urso *São Mamede *Vale da Seta *Vale de Barreiras *Vale de Ourém *Vale Sobreiro

Places of interest

* Gruta da Moeda * Pia do Urso * Santo António Chappel (built in the 18th century)

References

{{Reflist Towns in Portugal Populated places in Leiria District