Villarreal (Vila Real in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) is a village located on the

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

river in the

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 go ...

Olivenza Olivenza () or Olivença () is a town in southwestern Spain, near the Portuguese border, on a historically disputed section of the Portugal–Spain border. Its territory is administered by Spain as a municipality belonging to the province of Bad ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

In the thirteenth century, King

Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I of Portugal (), nicknamed "the Populator" ( pt, "o Povoador"), King of Portugal (Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fifth child of Afonso I of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. ...

awarded the village to the military

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

, with

Gonçalo Viegas Gonçalo is a Portuguese masculine given name and family name. People with the name include: *Gonçalo Brandão, a Portuguese footballer *Gonçalo Coelho, a Portuguese explorer of the South Atlantic and of the South American coast *Gonçalo Foro, ...

being the commander of the area.

Territorial dispute

Villarreal lies on the disputed section of the

Portugal–Spain border The Portugal–Spain border, also referred to as "The Stripe" ( es, La Raya, pt, A Raia, gl, A Raia, mwl, La Raia), is one of the oldest borders in the world. The current demarcation is almost identical to that defined in 1297 by the Treaty of ...

, in front of the fortified villages of

Juromenha Juromenha is a town in southeastern Portugal, near the border with Spain. It is part of Alandroal Municipality. See also *Castelo de Juromenha Castelo de Juromenha is a castle in Portugal located in Juromenha. It is classified by IGESPAR as a ...

and

Alandroal Alandroal () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Évora located on the eastern frontier with Spain along the right margin of the Guadiana River in the Central Alentejo region. It is located above sea level, northeast of Évora and sou ...

. Historically it belonged not as now to

, but to Juromenha, and was called Aldeia da Ribeira. After its incorporation into the

Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, it became a ''pedanía'' in the municipality of Olivenza.''Corographia portugueza e descripçam topographica do famoso Reyno de Portugal'', Tomo II, page 626, Padre António Carvalho da Costa, 1708

References

Populated places in the Province of Badajoz Territorial disputes of Spain Territorial disputes of Portugal {{Extremadura-geo-stub