Barca d'Alva is a Portuguese village located in the municipality of

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo () is a municipality in the District of Guarda (district), Guarda in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,150, in an area of 508.57 km2. Located in the Riba Coa (near the River Coa), just like other municipalities ...

, north of the

Guarda District The District of Guarda ( ) is located in the Centro Region of Portugal, except Vila Nova de Foz Côa, which is in the Norte Region. The district capital and most populous city is Guarda. It borders Castile and León (Spain). Municipalities T ...

. Barca d'Alva is also located inside the

Douro International Natural Park The Douro International Natural Park () is a natural park in northeast Portugal. With , it is one the largest protected areas in the country. It is located in the municipalities of Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro, Freixo de Espada à Cinta and Figu ...

and less than 1 km away from the Portugal-Spain border, defined by the

Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...

and the

Águeda Águeda () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. According to the Portuguese 2011 census, the municipality of Águeda had 47,729 inhabitants, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 14,504 (2001 data), while the remainder is distri ...

rivers.

Patrimony

Population

Mediterranean Agriculture

Barca d'Alva is a very rich area when it comes to agricultural activities. As far as agriculture is concerned, the most important crops are olive groves, vineyards and almond groves. The land around Barca d'Alva produces excellent canned olives, Douro wine,

Port wine Port wine (, ; ), or simply port, is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often served with dessert wine, ...

and

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the sh ...

for various confectionery products. There are also some orange groves along the banks of the

Douro River The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...

, which produce excellent oranges with exceptional organoleptic characteristics. Alongside these crops, there is also livestock production, in particular Churra da Terra Quente sheep.

History

19th century

Mapa dos caminhos de ferro em Portugal 1895

In 1887, Barca d'Alva became famous due to the inauguration of the last station (planned since 1883) in the

Linha do Douro The Douro line (Portuguese: Linha do Douro) is a 99-mile (160 km) railway line in northern Portugal that runs from Ermesinde to the eastern terminus at Pocinho. The line runs close to the Douro River for much of its route, offering scen ...

railway line. The end of the line had gradually moved closer and closer to the Spanish border, it expanded to Juncal in 1878, to Régua in 1879, Tua in 1883, Pocinho in January 1887, Vila Nova de Foz Côa in May 1887, and finally,

Barca d’Alva Barca d'Alva is a Portuguese village located in the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, north of the Guarda District. Barca d'Alva is also located inside the Douro International Natural Park and less than 1 km away from the Portugal ...

in December of that same year.

20th Century

1st class trains and carriages started roaming between

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 ...

and Barca d'Alva in 1902. The line then suffered another expansion this time Barca d'Alva's new connection crossed the border into

La Fregeneda La Fregeneda is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 337 inhabitants. See also * Fregeneda–Almendra pegmatitic field The Fregeneda–Almendra pegmatit ...

, however it was an economic fiasco that caused the management of the Spanish part of the line to change from a Portuguese company's management to a Spanish one, the expansion of the railway line caused a decline in boat traffic in the Douro river. As well as the normal facilities of a major station and terminal, such as stables and a turntable, Barca d'Alva had customs posts, a tax guard station and a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

. In 1985, the Boadilla-Fregeneda-Fronteira do Águeda section was closed. Barca d'Alva and the

consequently lost their international connection, and in 1988 it was the turn of the last train to beep in Barca d'Alva, with the closure of the Pocinho- Barca d'Alva section.

21st century

As of 2023, the entire station area is abandoned and Barca d'Alva is declining in terms of infrastructure and population.

References

{{commons Villages in Portugal