Almeida () is a fortified village and a municipality in the sub-region of Beira Interior Norte and the District of Guarda, Portugal. The town proper has a population of 1,300 people (2011). The municipality population in 2011 was 7,242, in an area of . It is located in Riba-Côa river valley. The present Mayor is António Baptista Ribeiro, elected by the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. The municipal holiday is July 2.

Location

The village lies west of the border with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and straddles the N332 road.Tourist & Motoring Atlas – Spain & Portugal. Publisher: Michelin Edition 2014. Work: page 42. The Rio Côa run northwards a short distance to the west of the village. The town's castle fortress was completed in 1641 and is located to the north of the village and is approached through the two tunnel gates and dry moat named the ''Portas de São Francisco''.

Twin town

Mutzig Mutzig ( or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est, in north-eastern France. The commune of Mutzig is located at the entrance of the Bruche (river), Bruche river valley, on the Route d ...

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

In and around the environment of Almeida, evidence of human occupation can be found dating back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Evidence has also been found of Roman occupation followed by the

Suevi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

and the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

. The first fortifications constructed in the settlement were constructed by the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

who occupied the village until Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was during this time that the current name was first used, in the form of the Arabic المائدة ''al-Ma'ida'' ('the table'). This name refers to a legend that an ornate bejeweled table captured by Tariq ibn Ziyad was the dining table of King

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

Sancho I, ''The Populator''

The village of Almeida was captured from the Moors by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I in the 12th century because of its strategic position on the new country of Portugal's border with Spain. So important to the security of the country, Sancho had the village heavily fortified. The castle was refortified on three further occasions by King Dinis, King Manuel I and by King João VI. The present 12 pointed star fortification was constructed in 1641 to a Vaubanesque plan on which the French military engineer is believed to have personally worked, during the castle's final stages of completion.

Spanish occupation

During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

(1754 to 1763) which involved most of the great powers of Europe,

with the help of

launched an attack on Portugal due to its alliance with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. As a result of the invasion Almeida was captured by Spain in 1762.

Almeida Fortress

The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from

, and underwent several sieges. The siege of 1810, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

,The Peninsular War. Author: Esdaile, Charles. Publisher:Penguin Books, 2002 Edition. Work:Chapter 12, Torres Vedras, Pagr 323, reference to the explosion . ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders and destroying most of the town.

Classified Heritage

See main article: Label: Lista de património edificado em Almeida ;

National monuments

* Walls of the Square of Almeida (National monument since February 3, 1928) * Castle of Castelo Bom (National monument since 2 January 1946) * Castle of Castelo Mendo (National monument since 2 January 1946)

Buildings of public interest

* Castelo Mendo Village (IIP since 25 June 1984) * Pillory of Castelo Mendo (IIP since 11 October 1933) * Pillory of Vale de Coelha (IIP since 11 October 1933) * Church of Saint Michael ( Malhada Sorda - IIP since 31 December 1997) * Necropolis of graves excavated in the rock ( Malpartida - IIP since 31 December 1997) * Church of Our Lady da Annunciation ( Leomil - IIP since 10 February 2014) * Anta da Pedra de Anta (TL: Dolmen of the Rock of Dolmen) ( Malhada Sorda - IIP since 8 October 2015)

Other monuments and museums

*Picadeiro D'el Rey (Almeida) _{(Loose Translation: King's Riding Arena)} *Casamatas_{(tl: casemates)} / Historical-Military Museum of Almeida *Quartel das Esquadras (Almeida) _{(tl: Barracks of the Police Stations)} *Almeida Centre for the Study of Military Architecture (CEAMA) * Malhada Sorda's Esnoga See external links:

Economy

The primary sector is the main source of wealth of the municipality of Almeida, similarly to the neighbouring municipalities of the interior. The agricultural and horticultural sector predominates as a complement to other family incomes, in which the

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

stands out. Given its characteristics, combined with economic and social factors, it has low productivity levels. Livestock comprises about 30 000 cattle and 10 000 sheep and goats. The food, wood and marble and granite processing industries are the most representative, although in general this sector is characterised by low productivity and occupies only about 5% of the working population of the municipality. The structure of the industrial sector has changed significantly, through the dynamisation of the Vilar Formoso industrial park, an infrastructure consisting of 31 lots. The tertiary sector assumes some expression in the parishes of Almeida and Vilar Formoso: Almeida, due to the fact that the administrative services inherent to a county seat, some bank agencies, law and accountancy offices as well as some traditional commerce and small hotels are located there; Vilar Formoso, due to its dynamics as the main land border, presents a significant number of bank agencies, hotels and commercial establishments. The services considered of social nature have also acquired some relevance in the two towns and in several villages, through the work developed by the social solidarity institutions there, in the areas of support and welcoming of the elderly and also of support to early childhood.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 16 civil parishes (''

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 Portuguese over ...

s''): * Almeida * Amoreira, Parada and Cabreira * Azinhal, Peva and Valverde * Castelo Bom _{(TL: Good Castle)} * Castelo Mendo, Ade, Monte Perobolço and Mesquitela * Freineda * Freixo * Junça and Naves * Leomil, Mido, Senouras and Aldeia Nova _{(Aldeia Nova translates to New Village)} * Malhada Sorda * Malpartida and Vale de Coelha * Miuzela and Porto de Ovelha * Nave de Haver * São Pedro de Rio Seco _{(TL: Saint Peter of the Dry River)} * Vale da Mula _{(TL: Valley of the Mule)} * Vilar Formoso

Festivities and events

*Ade #Lamb Festival - 1st or 2nd Sunday of February #Festivity of Saint Barbara (biennial, August) #Festivity of St. John (27 December) *Aldeia Nova #Festivity of Saint Mary Magdalene (22 June) #Festivity of Saint Barbara (movable in August) *Almeida #Commemorations of the Siege of Almeida (August) #Festivity of Our Lady of the Snows (August) #Pilgrimage of the Lord of the Barge (Sunday of Pentecost) #Municipal Holiday(2 July) *Amoreira #Festivity of Saint Bárbara (movable, August) #Festivity of Our Lady of Fátima (13 May) *Azinhal #Festivity of St. Sebastian (August) #Traditional Festivity (Easter Monday) *Cabreira #Festivity of Saint Mary Magdalene (22 July) #Festivity of Saint Barbara (August) *Castelo Bom and Aldeia de S. Sebastião #St. Sebastian (Weekend closest to January 20. Annual) #Our Lady of Remedies (movable, August) #Saint Anthony (June) #Saint Barbara (August) #Our Lady of Fátima (13 May) *Castelo Mendo and Paraizal #Our Lady of Fátima (13 May or closest Sunday) #Saint Anthony (August) *Freineda #Saint Euphemia (16 September) #Bucho (Tripe) Festival (March) *Freixo #Our Lady of Nativity (1st half of August) #Easter's Day Pilgrimage #Pilgrimage on Holy Sacrament Day *Junça #Our Lady of the Monastery (15 August) #Saint Anthony (June) #St. Sebastian (May) *Leomil and Ansul #Saint Anthony (2nd or 3rd week of August) #Our Lady of Annunciation (25 March - local holiday) #Our Lady of Conception (2nd or 3rd week of August) *Malhada Sorda Altar Senhora Ajuda

#Pilgrimage –

Our Lady of Help Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (), colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine art, Byzantine ico ...

(5th to 9 September) - the biggest pilgrimage of Guarda's Diocese, which attracts pilgrims to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Help all year round ## Sunday Eucharist in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Help - every first Sunday of every month (with the exception of other festivities on that date) ## Festivity of the Assumption of Our Lady - 15 August # Festivities ##

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

(last Monday of May) ##

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

(Sunday after 20 January) ## Festivity of the Bachelors and Divine Holy Spirit (Pentecost) ## Festivity of the Lord (Day of Corpus Christi) # Ceremonies of the

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

*Malpartida #Our Lady of the Snows (August) #Saint Anthony (August) #St. Sebastian (movable, August) #Saint Barbara (May) *Mesquitela #St. Sebastian (20 January) #Our Lady of the Infirm (movable, August) *Mido #St. Roque (16 August) #Saint Anthony (13 June - local holiday) #Our Lady of Fátima (October) *Miuzela #St. Sebastian (movable, August) #Procession of the Steps (Corpus Christi) *Monteperobolso #St. Brás (3 of February) #Saint Barbara (biennial, August) #Festival of the Emigrant (August) #Annual Festivity (Socializing lunch for the whole population) #St. Martin's Festivities (community's Magusto) #New Year's Eve (community supper) *Nave de Haver and Poço Velho #Saint Anthony (13 June) #Holiest Sacrament (July) #Our Lady of Fátima (15 August) #Saint Barbara (4 December) #Immaculate Conception (8 December) #St. Bartholomew *Naves #Saint Anthony (movable, August) *Parada e Pailobo #Saint Anthony (August) #St. Sebastian (August) #Festivity of the Roscas (25th and 26 December) *Peva e Aldeia Bela #Saint Mary Magdalene (22 June) #Holy Spirit (Day of Pentecost) #St. Sebastian (August) *Porto of Ovelha e Jardo #Festivity of the Holiest Sacrament (1st Sunday of June) #Festivity of Saint Amaro (August) *São Pedro de Rio Seco #Festivity of Our Lady of Good Success (penultimate weekend of August) #Festivity of St. Peter (Sunday after 29 June) #Festivity of St. Joseph (Sunday after 19 March) #Festivity of the Young Child (1st of Janeiro) *Senouras #Saint Catherine (25 November) #Saint Luzia (13 December) *Vale of Mula #Saint Anthony #Our Lady of Fátima (August) #Our Lady of Assumption (May) #Our Lady of Lourdes (2nd Sunday of February) *Vale of Coelha #Our Lady of Póvoa (movable, biennial) *Valverde #Our Lady of Grace (1st half of May) #Saint Anthony (biennial, 2nd half of August) *Vilar Formoso #Immaculate Conception (8 December) #Festivity of Our Lady of Peace (15 August)

Transportation

The town is served by the A25 Motorway, the main motorway linking Portugal and Spain which, in the territory of the municipality of Almeida, is connected to the rest of the road network via two interchanges: * Alto de Leomil: serves the western part of the municipality and the town of Almeida * Vilar Formoso: serves the arraiana area (east) of the municipality and the town of Vilar Formoso The municipality is also served by a considerable network of national roads: * EN 16: Aveiro - Viseu - Guarda - Alto de Leomil - Castelo Mendo - Castelo Bom - Vilar Formoso * EN 332: V. N. Foz Côa - Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo - Almeida - Vilar Formoso - Nave de Haver - Sabugal - Penamacor - Idanha-a-Nova * EN 324: Pinhel - Valverde - Alto de Leomil - Parada - Sabugal * EN 340: EN 324 - Almeida In summary, the distance between Almeida and nearby towns: ; Distance and time to other important points in the country *

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

- 344 km; 3h 20 min; *

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

- 230 km; 2h 15 min; *

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

- 195 km; 2h 5 min; * Castelo Branco - 130 km; 1h 20 min; *

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...

- 200 km; 2h; *

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

- 320 km; 3h 20 min. In terms of railways, the municipality of Almeida is crossed by the Beira Alta Line, being served by the Vilar Formoso station and the Aldeia stops (at the village of São Sebastião, parish of Castelo Bom), Freineda, Castelo Mendo (located near the village of Paraisal) and Miuzela. All the mentioned ones are stops of the Regional (CP) service that links the stations of Vilar Formoso and Guarda, allowing the transfer to the Intercidades(Intercities service) between the Guarda station and

, passing through cities like

and Santarém. Those who want to go north, namely to the cities of

, Aveiro,

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

have to make an additional transfer at Pampilhosa or Coimbra-B stations. Vilar Formoso railway station is also served by the international Sud-Express and Lusitânia Comboio Hotel services, hotel trains that connect to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, stopping in

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca (province), Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky r ...

and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

and in cities like

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

and

Hendaye Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA
Ávila for the latter.

Distinguished citizens

* António Leitão (Castelo Bom, 1530 - ?) - plastic artist. * Friar Bernardo de Brito (Almeida, 1569 - Almeida, 1617) - monk, historian and chief chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal. * António José de Abreu Castelo Branco (Almeida, 1752 - Lisbon, 1851) - military veteran. * Paulino Joaquim Leitão (Almeida, 1779 - Lisbon, 1830) - poet and military. * Major José Affonso Palla ( Malhada Sorda, 1861 -

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, 1915) - Republican military who participated in the coup of 5 October 1910; he was a deputy to the Constituent Assembly of 1911. * António Ginestal Machado (Almeida, 1874 - Santarém, 1940) -

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal (; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Ass ...

in 1923. * Teófilo Carvalho dos Santos (Almeida, 1906 -

, 1986) - Lawyer. Opposer to the Estado Novo, founder of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

and President of the Assembly of the Republic between 1978 and 1980. * José Pinto Peixoto ( Miuzela, 1922 -

, 1996) - eminent meteorologist, geophysicist and researcher. * Eduardo Lourenço ( São Pedro de Rio Seco, 1923 -

, 2020) - essayist and university professor.

Camões Prize The Camões Prize (, ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most prestigious prize for literature in the Portuguese language. The prize was established in 1989 and is supported by the governments of Brazil and Portugal. It is awarded annually to ...

in 1996 and Pessoa Prize in 2011. * Fernando Pinto Monteiro ( Porto de Ovelha, 1942 - ...) - jurist and magistrate. Attorney-general of the Republic between 2006 and 2012. * Major General Augusto Monteiro Valente (

, 1944 - Coimbra, 2012) - originally from Miuzela. Military, April Captain who occupied the border of Vilar Formoso during the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

. * D. João Marcos ( Monteperobolso, 1949 - ...) - Current Bishop of Beja. * Jaime Silva (Almeida, 1954 - ...) - economist. Minister of Agriculture between 2005 and 2009. * José Vilhena de Carvalho (1930–2013) - Lawyer and Historian. His books about Almeida are a reference in the history of the town. * Pedro Zaz (born 1978 in Almeida) a Portuguese New-Media plastic artist

References

External links

Municipality official websitePhotos from Almeida
*https://aldeiashistoricasdeportugal.com/en/ *https://www.centerofportugal.com/ {{Authority control Municipalities of Guarda District Towns in Portugal