Raposeira is a village and former

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 authorit ...

in the municipality of Vila do Bispo,

District of Faro Faro District ( pt, Distrito de Faro ) is the southernmost district of Portugal, coincident with the Algarve region. The administrative centre, or district capital, is the city of Faro. Municipalities The district is composed of 16 municipali ...

, in Algarve region,

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 th ...

. It is told that it is named after fox because ''raposa'' means ''fox'' 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 ...

. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish

Vila do Bispo e Raposeira Vila do Bispo e Raposeira is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Vila do Bispo and Raposeira Raposeira is a village and former civil parish in the municipali ...

. It has an area of 25.71 km² and 441 inhabitants (2001). It is one of the parishes covered by the

Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (PNSACV) is a natural park located in southwest Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on t ...

. Raposeira was one of the places where the 15th-century Portuguese prince

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

set up residence during his lifetime. Henry was known to have attended mass at the isolated but spacious chapel dedicated to the cult of Our Lady of Guadalupe, believed to have been originally erected by the

Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

knights in the latter part the 13th century, and one of the few Medieval structures in this region of the

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 ...

to have survived the 1755 earthquake intact. There are several groups of megalithic

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

s on the way to beach. It has been a very friendly place to stay for nomad groups, surfers and many had done retirement settlement here. People from Germany, England, Holland and more of Europe enjoy happy days here. The place is windy in summer because of the beach nearby. Wind blows mostly from two sides and it is really interesting because when the wind blows from Monchique a nearby area popular for ''medroneah'' (a very strong local alcoholic drink) it feels cold but on the other side is Morocco from where the very hot wind blows. There are not many choices to eat like in the centre of Raposeira but there are local Portuguese bars and small cafe restaurant. There is a pizza restaurant called Pizza Point which normally opens after 3:00 pm. The village is very calm with kind-hearted people. Bus transport is available from 6:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening sometimes differing on public holidays. But it is always better with your own means of transportation because if you want to travel to Sagres and Lagos from there you have to meet the bus timetable.

Patrimony

Menhir of Aspradantes A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe The Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe ( pt, Ermida de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe ), also known as the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe ( pt, Capela de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe) is located between the towns of Budens and Raposeira, in the Munic ...

Igreja da Raposeira "Igreja" ("Church") is a single by Brazilian rock band Titãs, released in 1986, part of their ''Cabeça Dinossauro'' album. Lyrics and composition According to songwriter and then bassist and vocalist Nando Reis, the song was written on the ac ...

Casa do Infante The Casa do Infante (''House of the Prince''), or alternately as the ''Alfândega Velha'' (''Old Customshouse'') is a historical house in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality o ...

* Battery of Zavial Image:Igreja Matriz da Raposeira.jpg, Church of Raposeira Image:Capela de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe in Raposeira.jpg, Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe Image:Menir Raposeira.jpg, Menhir of Aspradantes

References

{{authority control Former parishes of Vila do Bispo