Tondela () is a

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

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Portuguese subregion of Dão-Lafões. The population in 2011 was 28,946, in an area of 371.22 km².Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
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History

Local writer and intellectual Amadeu Ferraz de Carvalho (1876–1951) wrote of the municipality of Tondela in the following terms:

"The municipality of Tondela extends over the plateau, covers part of the eastern slope of Caramulo and surpassing the saw still slopes through the highlands of São João do Monte, over the gentle flanks of the upper Águeda basin. In this way, the natural sections of your area are: part of the plateau, cut by the Dão and its effluents the Paiva and Dinha
ivers Ivers is the Name of the following people: * Donald L. Ivers (born 1941), former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims *Eileen Ivers Eileen Ivers (born July 13, 1965) is an American fiddler. Ivers was born in New Yor ...
the depressed lands between the plateau and the Serra do Caramulo, drained by the Criz
iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...
and its effluents; a part of the eastern flanks of the Caramulanian mountains and elevated east around the Águeda basin; and I add, an extreme basin, with
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...
deposits, that indicate small extinct lakes, along the Serra do Caramulo; and the Vale de Besteiros."

In this context, the region of Tondela appears as one of the principal locations of archaeological remnants and concentrations of prehistoric populations. The traditional origin of the name Tondela is made concrete at Chafariz das Sereias (literally, "Spring of the

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

s"), a sculpted spring of stone depicting a woman holding a trumpet. Legend suggests this female figure represents a woman who monitored the movements of

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or s ...

forces across the mountains from her lookout. When she discovered an impending attack she would sound the horn, and at the sound of this instrument the settlers would arise to meet the enemy. The phrase ''"ao'tom'dela"''—literally, "at her sound" or "at the sound of it"—was transformed into the name ''Tondela''. Documents from the 9th, 10th, and 12th century designate this region ''Terra de Balistariis''. This designation arises from the word

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant ...

, a

ranged weapon A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is someti ...

used by ''besteiros'' ("

crossbowmen An arbalist, also spelled arbelist, is one who shoots a crossbow. Background An extensive list of archaic words for medieval crossbowmen is given by Payne-Gallwey. Richardson, in his 1839 dictionary, did not make specific reference to the cross ...

") during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The current municipality was until 1836 the seat of the historical municipality of Besteiros, whose name continues to be seen in some historical documents, references, and coat of arms of Tondela. To this former administrative division were annexed through successive administrative reforms the older entities of Serra do Caramulo, São João do Monte, and Guardão. The lowlands of Mouraz, Sabugosa, Canas de Santa Maria, São Miguel de Outeiro, and a few parishes that were part of Viseu or the smaller municipalities of Barreiro and Treixedo were also extended into Tondela.

Geography

Tondela is divided into 19 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 ...

''): * Barreiro de Besteiros e Tourigo * Campo de Besteiros * Canas de Santa Maria * Caparrosa e Silvares * Castelões * Dardavaz * Ferreirós do Dão * Guardão * Lajeosa do Dão * Lobão da Beira * Molelos * Mouraz e Vila Nova da Rainha * Parada de Gonta * Santiago de Besteiros * São João do Monte e Mosteirinho * São Miguel do Outeiro e Sabugosa * Tonda * Tondela e Nandufe * Vilar de Besteiros e Mosteiro de Fráguas

Sport

The Clube Desportivo de Tondela is the main sports club in the municipality. Its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team earned its first promotion to the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

in 2016.

Twin towns

Lannemezan Lannemezan (; Gascon Occitan ''Lanamesa'', "heath of the middle") is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department and the Occitanie region in south-western France. The inhabitants are called Lannemezanais. Lannemezan is the largest city ...

, France

Notable citizens

* Tomás Ribeiro (1831 in Parada de Gonta – 1901) politician, journalist, poet, and writer * Samuel Úria, (Wiki PT) (born 1979) a musician.

Sport

* Nuno Claro (born 1977) a former football goalkeeper with 266 club caps *

Nuno Piloto Nuno Miguel Torres Piloto de Albuquerque (born 19 March 1982), known as Piloto, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a central midfielder. Club career Born in Tondela, Viseu District, Piloto was brought up in the youth system of Académica de ...

(born 1982) a footballer with over 300 club caps * Rui Pedro Coimbra Chaves (born 1990), known as Ruca, a footballer with over 250 club caps

References

External links

Portal Tondela Online

Photos from Tondela
{{Authority control Populated places in Viseu District Municipalities of Viseu District