Batalha (), officially Batalha Town (), is a town and a municipality in historical Beira Litoral province, and

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

district in the

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Du ...

of Portugal. The town's name means "battle". The municipality population in 2011 was 15,805,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of . The town proper has around 8,548 inhabitants in an area of . The municipality is limited to the North and West by the municipality of

, to the East by

Ourém Ourém (, ), formerly known as Vila Nova de Ourém, is a municipality in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 45,932, in an area of 416.68 km2. The municipality of Ourém contains two cities: Ourém (about 12,000 ...

, to the Southeast by Alcanena and to the Southwest by Porto de Mós. The town was founded by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

D. João I of Portugal, jointly with the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha (a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

), to pay homage to the Portuguese victory at the

Battle of Aljubarrota The Battle of Aljubarrota was fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the a ...

(14 August 1385) that put an end to the 1383–1385 Crisis.

History

Although there are countless traces throughout the region that allude to a human occupation since prehistoric times, passing through the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and, successively, throughout history (it is believed that the Roman settlement of Collipo, originally of the Turduli people, established in São Sebastião do Freixo), Vila da Batalha owes its origin to the construction of the Santa Maria da Vitória Monastery. In fact, Batalha was born with the

Avis Dynasty The House of Aviz (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Casa de Avis'' ), also known as the Joanine Dynasty (''Dinastia Joanina''), was a dynasty of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which flourished during the Portuguese Renaissance, Renaissanc ...

and the consolidation of Independence in 1385. The administrative figure of the parishes is only drawn and defined throughout the second half of the 19th century, with Liberalism, so that on 14 September 1512, when the Prior-Major of Santa Cruz de Coimbra, D. Pedro Vaz Gavião, creates the parish of Batalha, it is evidently the seat that, however, delimits and is the first form of future civil parish.

Demography

Monuments

Batalha Monastery The Monastery of Batalha () is a Dominican convent in the municipality of Batalha, historical Beira Litoral province, in the Centro of Portugal. Originally, and officially, known as the ''Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory'' (), it was erec ...

* Estátua Equestre de São Nuno de Santa Maria (1966–1968) * Igreja Matriz de Exaltação de Santa Cruz (1514–1532) * Capela da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (18th century) * Ponte da Boutaca (1862) * Pelourinho (Restored in 2000) * Edifício Mouzinho de Albuquerque – Galeria de Exposições * Capela de Nossa Senhora do Caminho * Boca da Mina das Barrojeiras * Igreja Paroquial Nossa Senhora dos Remédios * Ermida de Nossa Senhora do Fetal * Moinhos de Vento

Natural heritage

* Grutas da Moeda * Estremadura Limestone Massif * Buraco Roto * Pia da Ovelha * Escarpa de falha do Reguengo do Fetal

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Batalha * Golpilheira * Reguengo do Fetal * São Mamede

International relations

Batalha is twinned with: * Trujillo, Spain (since 1992) * Joinville-le-Pont, France (since 2008)

Notable people

* Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque (1855 in Batalha – 1902) a Portuguese cavalry officer. *

Olegário Benquerença Olegário Manuel Bartolo Faustino Benquerença (born 18 October 1969 in Batalha, Portugal, Batalha) is a retired Portuguese association football, football Referee (association football), referee. As of 11 March 2009, he has refereed 11 matches ...

(born 1969 in Batalha) a retired Portuguese football referee.

References

External links

Photos from Batalha

Camara Municipal da Batalha

Monastery of Batalha
{{Authority control Towns in Portugal Populated places in Leiria District Municipalities of Leiria District