Cape St. Vincent (, ) is a headland in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Vila do Bispo, in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

History

Cape St. Vincent was already sacred ground in

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times, as standing

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s in the neighborhood attest. The

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

called it Ophiussa (Land of Serpents), inhabited by the Oestriminis and dedicated here a temple to

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

. The Romans called it ''Promontorium Sacrum'' (or Holy Promontory). Strabo, in his ''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'' calls this cape the most western tip of the known world and reports the place was considered magical. Common people believed the sun sank here hissing into the ocean, marking the edge of their world, which Strabo qualifies as "common and vulgar reports" and attributes to

Posidonius Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea (Syria), Apame ...

According to legend, the current name of this cape is linked to the story of a martyred fourth-century Iberian

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

St. Vincent whose body was brought ashore here. A shrine was erected over his grave; according to the Arab

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

, it was always guarded by

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

s and is therefore named by him كنيسة الغراب (''Kanīsah al-Ghurāb'', meaning "Church of the Raven"). King Afonso Henriques (1139–1185) had the body of the saint exhumed in 1173 and brought it by ship to

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 ...

, still accompanied by the ravens. This transfer of the relics is depicted on the coat of arms of Lisbon. All existing buildings—including the ''Vila do Infante'' of

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

—fell into ruins because of the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s who cared for the shrine stayed on until 1834, when all monasteries were disbanded in Portugal.

Naval battles

Several naval battles have been fought in the vicinity of this cape: * In 1337, a Castilian fleet defeated a Portuguese fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1337). * In 1606, a Spanish fleet defeated a Dutch fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1606). * In 1641, a Spanish fleet fought with a Dutch fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1641). * In 1681, a Spanish fleet defeated a Brandenburger fleet in the action of 30 September 1681. * In 1693, a French fleet defeated an Anglo-Dutch squadron in the Battle of Lagos (1693). * In 1719, a Spanish fleet defeated a British squadron in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1719). * In 1751, a Spanish fleet defeated an Algerian fleet in the action of 28 November 1751. * In January 1780, a British fleet defeated a Spanish fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780). * In August 1780, a Spanish fleet (along with French ships), defeated a British convoy in the action of 9 August 1780. * In 1797, a British fleet defeated a Spanish fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797). * In 1833, a Loyalist fleet defeated a Miguelite fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1833).

Geography

This cape is the southwesternmost point in Portugal. It forms the southwestern end of the E9 European Coastal Path, which runs for to

Narva-Jõesuu Narva-Jõesuu is a seaside resort town in northeast Estonia. It is located by the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, on the west bank of the Narva River, which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. Narva-Jõesuu marks the northea ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Approximately six kilometers from the village of Sagres, the cape is a landmark for a ship traveling to or from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. The cliffs rise nearly vertically from the Atlantic to a height of . The cape is a site of exuberant marine life and a high concentration of birds nesting on the cliffs, such as the rare Bonelli's eagle,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

, rock thrushes, rock pigeons,

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

s and

herons Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus '' Botaurus'' are referred to as ...

. The present lighthouse is high and was built over the ruins of a 16th-century

convent in 1846. The statues of St. Vincent and St.

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

had been moved to church of Nossa Senhora da Graça on Point Sagres away. This lighthouse, guarding one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, is among the most powerful in Europe (the most powerful being Phare du Creach on the French island of

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

, off the coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

); its two 1,000-watt lamps can be seen as far as away.

Climate

Cape St. Vincent has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

with very low seasonal variation and high occurrence of fogs. Cape Sao Vicente Lighthouse

Gallery

File:Cape St. Vincent (1879) - TIMEA.jpg, An 1879 sketch of the St. Vincent lighthouse File:Cabo Sao Vicente (25581534256).jpg, The cliffs of the St. Vincent coast File:Algarve_coast.jpg, An aerial view of the southwestern St. Vincent coast File:Cape St. Vincent Lighthouse.jpg, Cape St. Vincent lighthouse

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Geography of the Algarve Sao Vicente, Cabo de Sao Vicente, Cabo de Places in Greek mythology Tourist attractions in the Algarve