Almeirim (Portugal)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Almeirim
coat of arms map
Almeirim coat of arms
Almeirim (Portugal)
Almeirim
Basic data
Region : Alentejo
Sub-region : Lezíria do Tejo
District : Santarém
Concelho : Almeirim
Coordinates : 39 ° 12 ′  N , 8 ° 37 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 12 ′  N , 8 ° 37 ′  W
Residents: 12,812 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 69.13 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 185 inhabitants per km²
politics
Mayor : Joaquim Manuel de Deus Catalão
Almeirim district
flag map
Flag of Almeirim Position of the Almeirim district
Residents: 23,376 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 222.12 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 105 inhabitants per km²
Number of municipalities : 4th
administration
Administration address: Câmara Municipal de Almeirim
R. 5 de Outubro
2080-052 Almeirim
President of the Câmara Municipal: Pedro Miguel César Ribeiro ( PS )
Website: www.cm-almeirim.pt

Almeirim is a city in the Ribatejo region of Portugal . It is known in the country as the capital of stone soup ( Sopa da Pedra ), a nationally popular specialty.

Statue of the monk in Almeirim, from the legend of the stone soup

history

Finds prove a settlement since the Paleolithic Age , excavations from the Iron Age are particularly numerous in the district . During the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC BC Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus camped here in connection with his crossing of the Tagus near Santarém. The Romans then ran cattle here and especially cultivated grain and olives. The Roman road from Olisipo (now Lisbon ) to Emerita Augusta (now Mérida ) ran here. After the conquest of the Roman Lusitania by Germanic tribes from the 5th century onwards, the traces of the place are largely lost.

Today's Almerim was built in the 15th century, in 1411. King D. João I had the royal palace and the first houses built between 1411 and 1423, and King D. Manuel I had another residence here in the 16th century and build the monastery of Nossa Senhora da Serra. The aristocracy traditionally had hunting grounds here. The royal assembly, the Cortes , was convened here twice. For the first time by King D. João III. on the occasion of the swearing-in of Prince D. João, later father of King D. Sebastião , and a second time by the cardinal and transitional regent King D. Henrique I , to discuss the succession to the throne after the momentous death of D. Sebastião. A number of royal celebrations were also held here, including the wedding of Princess Isabella of Portugal to Emperor Charles V in 1526 , and the Portuguese part of the wedding of King Philip II of Spain to Mary of Portugal in 1543.

Street with restaurants in Almeirim

After the kings often visited Almeirim in winter, the place was also valued as a summer retreat, for example by writers like Garcia de Resende or Gil Vicente , who performed some of his plays in the town hall of Almeirim.

The previous small town ( Vila ) Almeirim was elevated to a town ( Cidade ) in 1991 .

administration

The circle

Almeirim is the administrative seat of a district of the same name ( concelho ) in the Santarém district . On June 30, 2011 the district had 23,376 inhabitants on an area of ​​222.1 km².

The neighboring areas are (starting clockwise in the north): Alpiarça , Chamusca , Coruche , Salvaterra de Magos , Cartaxo and Santarém .

The following municipalities ( Freguesias ) are in the Almeirim district:

Almeirim district
local community Population
(2011) 		Area
km² 		Density of
population / km² 		LAU
code
Almeirim 12,812 69.13 185 140301
Benfica do Ribatejo 3,067 29.27 105 140302
Fazendas de Almeirim 6,949 58.30 119 140303
Raposa 548 65.42 8th 140304
Almeirim district 23,376 222.12 105 1403


Population development

Population development in the Almeirim district (1801–2011)
1801 1849 1900 1930 1960 1981 1991 2001 2004 2011
1,318 4,602 13,688 12,808 18,011 21,154 21,380 21,957 22,617 23,403

Municipal holiday

  • Ascension of Christ

traffic

Almeirim is connected by the national road N114 and the Ponte D. Luís I over the Tejo with the district capital of Santarém, 8 km to the north. There is also the closest railway connection to the Linha do Norte . The south of Marateca coming A13 motorway and opened in 2000 Ponte Salgueiro Maia connect the place with the motorway network in the country.

The city is in the national long-distance bus network u. a. the Rede Expressos involved.

The urban transport company TUA - Transportes Urbanos de Almeirim operates a bus route that runs every half hour from the city center from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) on a circular route. Private bus companies provide the additional, regionally integrated local public transport .

The stone soup

The stone soup, Sopa da Pedra
  • Sopa da pedra ( dt: "stone soup" )

The name of this soup goes back to a fairy tale that comes in several versions. The basic idea: A monk is very hungry, but has nothing more to eat, just a pot. Since nobody wants to give him something to eat, he says, then he just wants to cook stone soup. He fills the pot with water, puts a stone in it and puts it on the fire. When the water boils, he explains that the taste can be improved with a little salt. One of the curious brings it; then the poor man explains that one after the other carrots, cabbage, potatoes, a sausage, etc. would each further improve the taste. These ingredients are brought to him one after the other, so that he can finally eat a complete, tasty and nutritious soup, in which the basic ingredient, the stone, is left over for a new "stone soup".

sons and daughters of the town

  • Ferdinand of Portugal, 2nd Count of Viseu

  • Ernesto Júlio de Carvalho e Vasconcelos

  • Moita Macedo

  • Cristina Branco at the Sines World Music Festival 2005

Web links

Commons : Almeirim  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.ine.pt - indicator resident population by place of residence and sex; Decennial in the database of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. ↑ a b Overview of code assignments from Freguesias on epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
  3. ↑ a b www.ine.pt - indicator resident population by place of residence and sex; Decennial in the database of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  4. ↑ www.verportugal.net , accessed January 17, 2014
  5. ↑ History page on the city administration website (port), accessed on January 25, 2014
  6. ↑ The bus connection page on the city administration's website, accessed on January 25, 2014
  7. ↑ Recipes on Almeirim's website: Gastronomia / Receitas ( Memento of April 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (Portuguese)