São João, or São João Baptista, is a former ''

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 ...

'' ("civil parish"), located 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' ...

Abrantes Abrantes () is a concelho, municipality in the central Médio Tejo Subregion, Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus River, which runs through ...

, in

Santarém District The District of Santarém ( ) is a district of Portugal, located in Portugal's West and Tagus Valley region. The district capital is the city of Santarém. The district is the 3rd largest in Portugal, with an area of , and a population of 475 ...

, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish

Abrantes (São Vicente e São João) e Alferrarede Union of Parishes of Abrantes e São Vicente e São João e Alferrarede is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Abrantes on Santarém District Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iber ...

. The population in 2011 was 1,699, in an area of 2.21 km². It was one of the three parishes that make up the urbanized area of the city.

History

The origin of São João has its base in the early settlement of Abrantes, first documented in 1176.

Afonso Henriques Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...

granted its

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

to the Order of Santiago de la Espada in 1173. Three years later, he granted its fish channel to the Monastery of

Lorvão Lorvão is a parish in Penacova Penacova ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,251, in an area of 216.73 km2. Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 8 c ...

. The grant was partly in aid of the residents, but entitled the King to nine-tenths of the catch. In 1179, Afonso Henriques granted a

foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in Portugal and its former empire, whose purpose was to establish a ''concelho'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and priv ...

to Abrantes, which was confirmed by King Afonso II in 1217. On 24 April 1281, King

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

granted Abrantes to his wife, Queen

Elizabeth of Portugal Elizabeth of Portugal (''Elisabet'' in Catalan, ''Isabel'' in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish; 1271 – 4 July 1336), also known as Elizabeth of Aragon, was Queen of Portugal from 1282 to 1325 as the wife of King Denis. She is venerated as ...

. He continued to expand the fort, building the detention block. With the aim of expanding the settlement, he extended its jurisdiction to include Punhete (today's

Constância Constância () is a municipality in Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,056, in an area of 80.37 km². Conquered from the Moors in 1150, it was given the status of 'town' in 1571 through a charter from King Sebastia ...

). In the 17th and 18th centuries, Abrantes was an important military base, classified a ''Praça de Guerra de 1.ª Ordem'' (). In 1807, during the Napoleonic invasions of the peninsula, the fort and parish were a staging point for Marshall

Jean-Andoche Junot Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes (; 25 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for leading the French invasion of Portugal in 1807. ...

's troops (23 November). Later, Marshall

André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...

's forces encircled the fort and settlement, but the Anglo-Portuguese troops and local inhabitants defended the parish, until he was forced to retire from Portugal to Spain.Robert Southey (1823), p.547 The Church of Saint John the Baptist () was founded in 1300, by Queen

, and the settlement was elevated to parish rank shortly after (in 1326). It was from this church that King

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

departed for

Aljubarrota Aljubarrota () is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Alcobaça, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the parishes of Prazeres and São Vicente. Its population in 2011 was 6,639 Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

on 8 August 1385, vowing to return and offer thanksgiving for success in battle. With victory achieved, he returned and had a rock sculpture of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

erected.

Geography

The parish is a circular administrative division located on the northern margin of the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

, at the southern border of the city of Abrantes. Neighbouring parishes include

Alferrarede Alferrarede is a town and a former ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the Municipalities of Portugal, municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Abrantes (São Vicente e São Jo ...

(to the east), Rossio ao Sul do Tejo (to the southwest),

São Miguel do Rio Torto SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of Y ...

(to the southwest) and São Vicente (to the northwest).

Architecture

Military

* Fortaleza de Abrantes ()

Religious

* Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo () * Igreja de São João Baptista () * Igreja da Misercórdia () * Convento de São Domingos ()

Culture

Festivities

The ''Festas de Abrantes'' (), celebrated on the second week of June and which each year attract about 250,000 visitors, are the principal socio-cultural event of the parish. The religious ''Festa da Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem'' (), in the locality of Barreiras do Tejo, is celebrated each year in August/September.

References

;Notes ;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Joao (Abrantes) Former parishes of Abrantes