History of the city of Elvas
The history of the city of Elvas describes the origins and historical development of the Portuguese city of Elvas .
As a result of its contested history, the site is home to the largest preserved bulwark fortifications in the world. Since 30 June 2012, they include, as well as the entire historic city center, the World Heritage of UNESCO .
Today Elvas is the seat of a district ( concelho ) in the southern Portuguese region of the Alentejo and has 23,078 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2011).
From the beginning to the Arab city
The oldest finds come from the Paleolithic Age , but it is above all the 23 tombs ( port. Antas ) from the early Copper Age that document the prehistoric settlement of the area for about 6000 years. The first fortified settlement was established here in the Iron Age . During the Castro culture there was then regular trade with the Mediterranean. Punic and Greek ceramics were found in the Castro de Segóvia between Elvas and Campo Maior .
In the course of their conquest campaigns at the beginning of the 2nd century BC BC the Romans also subjugated the local settlements of the Celtiberians , who then became part of the province of Lusitania .
The Romans fortified the place, which was a security post on the trade route between Emerita Augusta (today Mérida ) via Ebura (today Évora ) to Olisipo (today Lisbon ). The most important excavations from Roman times include here u. a. 23 villas , 15 tombs and two stone quarries.
From around 470 AD, Germanic tribes invaded the Roman provinces on the Iberian Peninsula. From the middle of the 6th century the area of Elvas was under the rule of the Visigoths , but there are few finds from that time. Two marble columns are attributed to them here.
From 711 the Arabs conquered the Iberian Peninsula. It is now certain that the previous settlement did not exist exactly on the hill on which the Arab village emerged after 884. Elvas is therefore often seen as an Arab start-up and in this context is considered a vivid model of Islamic urban planning in Portugal. The local founder Ibn Marwan probably had the local settlement rebuilt and fortified with the remains of Roman fortifications, as a strategic place called Ialbax or Yalbas, near Batalyaws (today Badajoz ). Around 913 Ialbax received a reinforced fortress. In the 11th century, the place received a second city wall with several city gates. The reason was the population increase as a result of its steadily growing importance. The city was on the regional trade routes, mostly along original Roman roads , between the places Batalyaws (Badajoz), al-Quasr ( Alcácer do Sal ), Chantirein or Santarin ( Santarém ) and Ushbûna or al-Usbuna (Lisbon). The geographer al-Idrisi described the place as strongly fortified, almost impregnable, with brisk trade and beautiful women .
From the 12th century, Ialbax was also the target of Christian attacks during the Reconquista . The Moors recaptured the city in 1166 after it was first captured by King D.Afonso Henriques . After a only temporarily successful siege in 1226 by King Sancho II , Elvas fell to the Christian armies in 1229 (other sources state that it was not finally conquered until 1230).
From the Christian conquest to the restoration in 1640
The still contested Elvas received its first city rights in 1229, which were confirmed in 1263, after the withdrawal of the Arabs and the conclusion of the Portuguese Reconquista. Elvas became the seat of a district in the Diocese of Évora with four parishes. The existing Arab fortifications were expanded and rebuilt after they began to decline in the 14th century. For example, King D. Afonso IV had a third fortress wall drawn around the place after he had stayed here for a while. It was completed during the reign of King D. Fernando I and had 22 towers and 11 gates.
During the clashes between the Portuguese King D. Fernando I and the Kingdom of Castile , Elvas was the target of Castilian attacks in 1381. Thanks to its fortifications, the city withstood a 25-day siege that prevented the French-Spanish troops from advancing on Lisbon. As a result, English forces called for help under Edmund von Cambridge were able to land there unhindered and assist the besieged Elvas. After minor skirmishes, a battle between the armies that met here was prevented by the peace treaty of July 17, 1381. The following armed conflicts after the revolution of 1383 , which triggered a civil war and a war with Castile, followed a phase of recovery and peace after the battle of Aljubarrota on August 14, 1385. The consolidated Kingdom of Portugal subsequently developed strongly and rose to become a sea power.
King Manuel I elevated Elvas to the status of a city ( Cidade ) in 1513 , which was redesigned through numerous Renaissance building measures . In addition to some streets, the central square of the town, the town hall, and the new aqueduct, which was only completed in 1622, were built according to designs by the architect Francisco de Arruda . In 1570 Elvas became a bishopric, and some new monasteries were built here. Elvas took part in the country's upswing, which was triggered by the wealth that arrived as a result of the Portuguese Empire . With the crisis of the Portuguese royal family and the following personal union with Spain (1580-1640) Elvas also experienced a decline. As early as December 3, the city therefore declared its support for the revolution that broke out on December 1, 1640, as a result of which Portuguese independence was restored.
After Elvas was developed into one of the most important fortresses in the country as a strategically important place , the place became the scene of the Restoration War that broke out as a result of the revolution of 1640 several times . After the first skirmishes in 1640 and heavy Spanish attacks in 1658, one of the decisive battles for the independence of Portugal took place here on January 14, 1659. The Spanish army Luís de Haros , consisting of 12,000 infantry and 3,500 riders, was unsuccessful in its attack on the besieged Elvas and was defeated by its 20,000 crew and 20 guns. Although Elvas continued to be one of the most important fortress cities in the country afterwards, it was not spared from the subsequent crisis in the pacified country. The state coffers emptied by the war enabled, in Elvas as in the whole of Portugal, only a hesitant reconstruction, and other economic impulses also failed to materialize, until the revival of the Brazilian trade and its effect on the colonial power Portugal from the middle of the 17th century.
After the restoration up to the Estado Novo dictatorship
Due to the involvement of Portugal in the War of Succession in Spain , the city was again the scene of Spanish invasions in 1704. In view of its still important strategic location, Elvas became the seat of one of two newly created military academies in 1732 (the second was established in Almeida , while the first two remained in Lisbon and Viana do Castelo ). Elvas prepared again for acts of war when Portugal was drawn into the Seven Years' War by adherence to the pact with England . As a result, Portugal was again the target of Spanish attacks. The German Count Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe took over the management of large parts of the defense on behalf of the absolutist Prime Minister Marquês de Pombal . He built it further defenses in Elvas. The city itself remained largely unaffected by acts of war, just as there was hardly any fighting in the whole country, which is why the war in Portugal is known as Guerra Fantástica (German: fantasy war). The Peace of Paris in 1763 ended the war before it could take on any major proportions here as well. The fortifications of Elvas were further expanded, as the continued high strategic importance of the city had become clear. Elvas was now one of the world's strongest inland fortifications.
During the Orange War , which was victorious for Spain , there had been an unsuccessful Spanish attempt under Manuel de Godoy to conquer Elvas in 1801 . On March 11, 1808, Spanish-French troops under Francisco Solano brought the city under their control. On July 29, 1808, French troops under General Loison defeated a Portuguese-Spanish rebel army here, and Elvas was plundered on August 3 of that year. The English army under the later General Wellington , which had meanwhile landed in Lavos near Figueira da Foz , reached Elvas on August 15. After the French withdrew, the British stayed in the city until they also withdrew in January 1809 after the Anglo-Spanish agreement. In view of the threat of a new French invasion, the fortifications of Elvas were rebuilt in 1810. The city itself remained untouched by the close fighting when the British General Beresford prepared his troops here on April 4, 1811 for an attack against the army of the French General Soult in Olivença and Badajoz. During the siege of Badajoz (1812) , General Wellington camped in Monte da Gramicha, a small town in Elvas County. It was not until his last siege of Badajoz that his Portuguese-British troops succeeded in conquering Badajoz from April 6 to 9, 1811. The general of the French forces in Badajoz, Armand Philippon , was arrested shortly afterwards in Elvas. After the fighting ended , a cemetery for the Protestant British dead was established here in the Baluarte da Corujeira fortress section .
In the Liberal Revolution of 1822 , the church and military dominated Elvas sided with the absolutists. After the victory of the Liberals in the Miguelistenkrieg , the importance of Elvas declined continuously. When the government districts were created in 1835, as part of the liberal administrative reform, the smaller Portalegre, but more loyal to the new government, became the district capital . In Elvas, however, the military facilities have now been reduced, and with the liberal, anti-church laws and expropriations, a number of local monasteries disappeared. In addition, Ângelo de Nossa Senhora da Boa-Morte, who had been in office since 1832, became Elva's last bishop. As a result, the anti-liberal attitude in Elvas continued to rise. To counter it, Sá da Bandeira became governor of the garrison town at the end of 1840, whose task was also to reduce the anti-liberal mood in Elvas. In the second half of the 19th century Elvas experienced a relative boom, especially after the opening of the new road ( Estrada Real ) to Lisbon in 1857 and the arrival of the railroad in 1863. In addition to the flourishing trade and the intellectual circles that developed here, the success of the “Plums from Elvas” ( Portuguese : Ameixas de Elvas , a dessert) economic stimulus. In 1880 the city library was opened and a number of newspapers appeared in the city.
After the fall of the Portuguese monarchy and the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the political climate also cooled down in Elvas, where the monarchist party won the election again in 1921. After the failed monarchist revolt of April 18, 1925, a number of its activists served prison terms in Elvas, including Gomes da Costa and Sinel de Cordes . It was here that they planned their coup d'état of May 28, 1926, which led to the military dictatorship and the semi - fascist Estado Novo regime established in 1932 . The place underwent some modernizations with the support of the new regime. After in the 1930s u. a. When the cinema was built, the city saw a number of innovations, especially in the 1940s, including the new building district, the first expansion of the city outside the outer city walls. In addition to a large number of new buildings, the first pousada in Portugal was set up here, the Pousada de Santa Luzia .
From the Carnation Revolution until today
With the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974 and the end of the Estado Novo, the city experienced an external and internal change due to the new construction district and the democratization of its facilities. Since the 1980s there has been an economic boom, parallel to the general development of the country. With the dwindling importance of its border function and its agriculture following Portugal's accession to the EU in 1986, the city's economic development was also dampened. Despite all the progress, it was therefore able to benefit comparatively little from the economic boom years in Portugal during the 1990s.
The region of the Alentejo , to which Elvas belongs, is still considered structurally weak and affected by population decline. But Elvas is also considered a city with a quality of life. The weekly Expresso placed the city in 12th place in its 2007 survey of the most livable cities in Portugal. The city expects new impulses from tourism as a result of its recognition as a World Heritage Site, and from the realization of the Spanish-Portuguese major investment announced since 2006 in a logistics park , the Plataforma logística Elvas / Badajoz .
The place name
The name of the original Celtic settlement has not been passed down properly. So the assumption is unfounded that today's name Elvas is derived from the place name at that time Alba or Elba, which is also mentioned by Pliny (24–79 AD). Another assumption, u. a. by André de Resende (1500–1573), the name goes back to the Helvetians who settled here and who lived here in 999 BC. Should have founded in the course of Celtic immigration. The Romans recorded the place as Elvii from then on, although it is unknown whether the name was actually derived from Alba or Elba by the Romans, or whether it was more inspired by Gaius Marcus Helvius , the propaetor of the Hispania ulterior province .
The place name Elvas, which has been in use since the Christian conquest, comes from the Arabic name Albaxarnal, Elbax, Ialbax or Yalbas, sometimes also indicated with Ielche. The origin of this Arabic name is also unclear and was probably borrowed from the locally used place name described.
View from the citadel of the historic center of Elvas
The Elvas Aqueduct
One of the city gates in the historic center, in front of it the stake
Statue of King Manuel I in Elvas
Fountain in the historic center of Elvas
Chapel of the English cemetery
View over the Elvas aqueduct
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c History page on the website of the city administration ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ www.academia.edu , accessed on July 27, 2013
- ^ A b João Fonseca: Dicionário do Nome das Terras . 2nd edition, Casa das Letras, Cruz Quebrada 2007, p. 100 ( ISBN 978-9724617305 )
- ↑ History page on the website of the city administration, p. 3 ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ History page on the website of the city administration, p. 4 ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Article of the Expresso of January 6, 2007 with ranking ( Memento of the original of May 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 427 kB), accessed on July 27, 2013
- ↑ Article from May 17, 2006 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the daily newspaper Diário de Notícias , accessed on July 27, 2013
- ^ João Fonseca: Dicionário do Nome das Terras . 2nd edition, Casa das Letras, Cruz Quebrada 2007, p. 99f ( ISBN 978-9724617305 )
- ↑ António Henrique de Oliveira Marques : History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 385). Translated from the Portuguese by Michael von Killisch-Horn. Kröner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-520-38501-5 , p. 40.
- ↑ Entry on Elvas in the Dicionário de Toponímia , the place name dictionary of the online encyclopedia Infopédia of the Porto Editora , accessed on July 27, 2013
