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Silves () is a city and
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
in the Portuguese region of
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 it ...
, 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 The Kingdom of the Algarve ( Portuguese: ''Reino do Algarve'', from the Arabic ''Gharb al-Andalus'' ), after 1471 Kingdom of the Algarves ( Portuguese: ''Reino dos Algarves''), was a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal, located in the s ...
(1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the
Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a 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 kn ...
(1139-1910), and is of great historical importance.


History

The region of Silves has been inhabited since the
Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
, as attested by archaeological remains, including several menhirs. 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 located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...
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 The Cynetes or Conii were one of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, living in today's Algarve and Lower Alentejo regions of southern Portugal, and the southern part of Badajoz and the northwestern portions of Córdoba and Ciudad R ...
(or Conii). Silves was once also part of the
Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
(418–c. 721). After 713, when the Moors invaded Iberia, Silves became part of the Umayyad
Emirate of Córdoba The Emirate of Córdoba ( ar, إمارة قرطبة, ) was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. Its founding in the mid-eighth century would mark the beginning of seven hundred years of Muslim rule in what is now Spain and Po ...
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 translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
. 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 (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
. 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 The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...
conquest the town became Almohad in 1156. In 1189, King Sancho I of Portugal 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
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
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. Again under Muslim rule, the city would then prosper to the point of being called ''the
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
of the West''. The town was finally taken from the last Muslim king Ibn Afan by
Paio Peres Correia D. Paio Peres Correia was a Portuguese warrior who played an important role in the thirteenth-century Reconquista. He was born c. 1205, in Monte de Fralães, a civil parish in the municipality of Barcelos. He went to Uclés, then the seat of t ...
, Grand-Master of the Order of Santiago in 1242, after the Alentejo and most of the coast had already fallen in 1238. The great
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
was changed into
Silves Cathedral The Silves Cathedral ( pt, Sé Catedral de Silves) is a former cathedral in the city of Silves, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. A mosque, built during the Moorish rule of the Iberian Peninsula, was originally located in its current pl ...
(''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. In the 19th century, Silves became an important centre for the Portuguese
cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
industry. The industry's decline began after cork factory workers, instigated by
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
and anarcho-syndicalist 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 Loulé () is a city and municipality in the region of Algarve, district of Faro, Portugal. In 2011, the population of the entire municipality was 70,622 inhabitants, in an area of approximately . The municipality has two principal cities: Loul� ...
). Other sights include the Santa Misericórdia Church with a fine door in Manueline style (the main body of the church was built in 1727–28); a museum for
cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
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 (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
onwards. The town is situated on a hill above the
Arade River The Arade () is a river located in the region of the Algarve, southern Portugal. the river's course takes it through the municipalities of Silves, Lagoa and Portimão. The source of the river lies to the southwest of the Serra do Caldeirão mou ...
. Silves Castle is located on the top of the hill. It occupies ca. 12,000 m2. Archaeological
excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...
s 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-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
remains as well. The walls are made of red
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
(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.


Geography

The municipality is crossed by the
Arade River The Arade () is a river located in the region of the Algarve, southern Portugal. the river's course takes it through the municipalities of Silves, Lagoa and Portimão. The source of the river lies to the southwest of the Serra do Caldeirão mou ...
, 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 (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...
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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. Silves is built on top of one of the largest underground
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characte ...
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, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...
and 62 kilometers northwest of Faro International Airport by road.


Climate

Silves 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 ...
( Köppen: ''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 ''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 ...
''): * Alcantarilha e Pêra * Algoz e Tunes * Armação de Pêra * São Bartolomeu de Messines *
São Marcos da Serra São Marcos da Serra, also known simply as São Marcos, is a village and the seat of the homonymous civil parish in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve region, Portugal. The population of the entire civil parish in 2011 was 1,352, in an area ...
* Silves


Economy

The activities linked to the secondary sector play a very important role in the municipality's economy. The
cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and extractive industries are the main activities. The
extractive industry Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...
emerged in the
Metal Age The three-age system is the periodization of human pre-history (with some overlap into the historical periods in a few regions) into three time-periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age; although the concept may also refer to ...
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 sc ...
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 describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, '' 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 (1031–1086) a Muwallad poet from Silves. * Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi (died 1151) a
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
rebel leader and governor of Silves for the
Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...
* João de Deus (c.1190–1267) canon law jurist and priest *
João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos João de Deus de Nogueira Ramos (8 March 1830 – 11 January 1896), better known as João de Deus, was a Portuguese poet, pedagogue and editor who turned his attention to Portuguese educational problems and wrote the famous didactic book ''Cartilh ...
(1830–1896) poet and editor, wrote the didactic book '' Cartilha Maternal'' in 1876 *
Corina Freire Corina Freire (1897 – ), 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 pha ...
(1897–?1975?) a Portuguese singer, actress and impresario. Corina Freire, IMDb Database
retrieved 07 June 2021. * Bernardo Marques (1898-1962) a painter, illustrator, graphic artist and caricaturist * Maria Keil (1914–2012) an artist and illustrator, known for her painting, drawing and tapestry * José Vitoriano (1918-2006) a politician and a major player in the 1974 overthrow of the Portuguese ruling regime * Maria Cavaco Silva (born 1938) wife of
Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Order of Christ (Portugal), GCC, Order of Liberty, GColL, Order of Prince Henry, GColIH (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist who served as the 19th president of Portugal, in office from 9 March 2006 to 9 ...
, the 19th President of Portugal, so, the First Lady of Portugal 2006-2016 *
Amélia Veiga Amélia Veiga, also known as Amélia Maria Ramos Veiga Silva (born 1931) is a Portuguese-born Angolan poet and teacher. Amélia Veiga was born 1 December, 1931 "Amélia Veiga (Amélia Maria Ramos Veiga Silva) (Angola) b. 1 December 1931 at Silve ...
(born 1932) a Portuguese-born
Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...
n poet and teacher * Rui Bento (born 1972) a former footballer with 321 club caps and a manager


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


References


External links


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