Ferreira do Alentejo

Ferreira do Alentejo
coat of arms map
Basic data
Region :	Alentejo
Sub-region :	Baixo Alentejo
District :	Be yes
Concelho :	Ferreira do Alentejo
Coordinates :	38 ° 3 ′  N , 8 ° 7 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 3 ′  N , 8 ° 7 ′  W
Residents:	4716 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface:	223.82 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density :	21 inhabitants per km²
Ferreira do Alentejo county
flag map
Residents:	8255 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface:	648.24 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density :	13 inhabitants per km²
Number of municipalities :	4th
administration
Administration address:	Câmara Municipal de Ferreira do Alentejo Pçª Comendador Inf.Passanha, 5 7900-571 Ferreira do Alentejo
President of the Câmara Municipal:	Aníbal Sousa Reis Coelho da Costa ( PS )
Website:	www.cm-ferreira-alentejo.pt

Ferreira do Alentejo is a small town ( Vila ) and a district ( Concelho ) in Portugal with 4716 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2011).

history

Finds and excavations prove the settlement of the place for over 4000 years. Later the Romans left numerous traces, including bridges ( e.g. in Alfundão ), religious places of worship, and residential buildings, in particular the Villa rustica of Monte da Chaminé . After the fall of the Roman province of Lusitania , the place was part of the Visigoth Empire , to become part of the Arab al-Andalus after the invasion of the Moors at the beginning of the 8th century . However, further documents with more precise data do not exist.

In the course of the Reconquista , the place was taken from the Arabs in 1233 and bequeathed to the Santiagoorden in 1234 . Using the previously existing fortifications, the order built a castle here. On the ruins of the castle, which had meanwhile fallen into disrepair, the municipal administration built the municipal cemetery in 1834, so that no remains of this castle can be seen today.

In 1516 Ferreira received city rights ( Foral ) by King Manuel I , and the place took off. In this context, some noble families settled here (Lacerdas, Sousas, Vilhenas and Passanhas). In 1627 Ferreira became the seat of what was then an administrative district ( Comarca , comparable to today's administrative district). Later it was subordinated to the forerunners of today 's Beja district , but Ferreira do Alentejo remained an independent district through all administrative reforms to this day.

The coat of arms and the legend of the place name

Popular tradition tells of an episode that begins with the invasion of the Suebi and Goths into the Roman town of Siga at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century. The residents are said to have resisted and driven away the attackers. In terms of defense, the fearless and massive commitment of the blacksmith's wife ( Portuguese : Ferreiro ), i.e. the Ferreira (female form), forced the decision. The place name Siga was subsequently replaced by Ferreira , according to legend. Over time, the place received the addition do Alentejo to differentiate it from other places of the same name, for example Ferreira do Zêzere (German: Ferreira am Zêzere) or Ferreira-a-Nova (German: Ferreira-die-Neuere).

The coat of arms shows the blacksmith's wife, the emblem of the Order of Santiago and the castle he built. Sheaves of grain can be seen above, referring to the supraregional important wheat production of the district.

Culture and sights

• 

  The unusual Capela do Calvário

• 

  The fortifications of Ferreira, graphic by Alain Manesson Mallet (1684)

• 

  Landscape in the county of Ferreira do Alentejo

• 

  At the Barragem de Odivelas reservoir

The various monuments in Ferreira do Alentejo include former official buildings, mansions and sacred buildings , such as the characteristic Capela do Calvário (also Capela de Santa Maria Madalena ) from the 17th century, the Igreja da Misericórdia church with the Manueline portal that is well worth seeing , or the Baroque parish church Igreja Paroquial de Ferreira do Alentejo (also Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção ), which dates back to the 14th century and was extensively redesigned at the beginning of the 18th century . The historic center of Ferreira do Alentejo as a whole is also a listed building. The traditional furniture manufacturer Mobitral , acquired by the city of Ferreira do Alentejo in 1988, offers tours and shows regional furniture traditions of the Alentejo. The municipal museum Museu Minicipal is housed in a mansion from the 19th century and houses, among other things, an art gallery with changing art exhibitions.

The annual market with a local festival takes place on the third Sunday in September.

administration

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Ferreira do Alentejo is the administrative seat of a district of the same name. The neighboring districts are (starting clockwise in the north): Alcácer do Sal , Alvito , Cuba , Beja , Aljustrel , Santiago do Cacém and Grândola .

With the regional reform in September 2013, several municipalities were merged into new municipalities, so that the number of municipalities decreased from six to four.

The following municipalities ( Freguesias ) are in the Ferreira do Alentejo district:

Ferreira do Alentejo county

local community	Population (2011)	Area km²	Density of population / km²	LAU code
Alfundão e Peroguarda	1,227	88.33	14th	020807
Ferreira do Alentejo e Canhestros	5,140	295.66	17th	020808
Figueira dos Cavaleiros	1,346	154.20	9	020803
Odivelas	542	110.05	5	020804
Ferreira do Alentejo county	8,255	648.24	13	0208

Population development

Population in Ferreira do Alentejo County (1801–2011)
1801	1849	1900	1930	1960	1981	1991	2001	2004	2011
2089	4737	8401	12,472	14,894	11,244	10,075	9010	8505	8255

Municipal holiday

• 5. March

Tim (2007)

Sons and daughters of Ferreira do Alentejo

• Júlio Marques de Vilhena (1845–1928), lawyer and politician, multiple minister, 1895–1907 President of the Central Bank of Portugal ( Banco de Portugal )
• Luísa Barbosa (1923–2003), actress
• Armando Sevinate Pinto (* 1946), conservative politician, Minister in the Durão Barroso cabinet (2002-2004)
• Tim (* 1960), musician, singer in the rock band Xutos & Pontapés
• Manuel Matias (* 1962), athlete, Olympic participant 1996 , winner of the Paris Marathon 1988

The well-known Corsican ethnologist Michel Giacometti was buried in the municipality of Peroguarda in 1990 .

Web links

Commons : Ferreira do Alentejo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Map of the Freguesia Ferreira do Alentejo at the Instituto Geográfico do Exército
• Official website

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. ↑ www.ine.pt - indicator resident population by place of residence and sex; Decennial in the database of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística
4. ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on February 5, 2013
5. ↑ www.verportugal.net , accessed on February 5, 2013
6. ^ João Fonseca: Dicionário do Nome das Terras. 2nd edition, Casa das Letras, Cruz Quebrada 2007, p. 111 ( ISBN 978-9724617305 )
7. ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on February 5, 2013
8. ↑ ditto
9. ↑ ditto
10. ↑ www.mobitral.com , accessed February 5, 2013
11. ^ Publication of the administrative reorganization in the Diário da República gazette of January 28, 2013, accessed on March 16, 2014