Monforte (Portugal)

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Monforte
coat of arms map
Monforte coat of arms
Monforte (Portugal)
Monforte
Basic data
Region : Alentejo
Sub-region : Alto Alentejo
District : Portalegre
Concelho : Monforte
Coordinates : 39 ° 3 ′  N , 7 ° 26 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 3 ′  N , 7 ° 26 ′  W
Residents: 1384 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 214.74 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 6.4 inhabitants per km²
politics
Mayor : Francisco Alexandre Severino Carrilho
Address of the municipal administration: Junta de Freguesia de Monforte
Estrada Circunvalação Monforte
7450-106 Monforte
Website: jf-monforte.pt
Monforte district
flag map
Flag of Monforte Position of the Monforte district
Residents: 3329 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 420.25 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 7.9 inhabitants per km²
Number of municipalities : 4th
administration
Administration address: Câmara Municipal de Monforte
Praça da República, AP4
7450-115 Monforte
President of the Câmara Municipal: Miguel Alexandre Ferreira Rasquinho ( PS )
Website: www.cm-monforte.pt

Monforte is a small town ( Vila ) and a district ( Concelho ) in Portugal with 3329 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2011).

The central square of Praça da República

history

A large number of finds prove a prehistoric settlement, especially since the Neolithic . The Romans settled here and fortified the place. Not much is known about the place from the time after the invasion of Germanic tribes from the 5th century and the conquest of the area by the Arabs from the early 8th century.

After a first conquest by King D.Afonso Henriques in 1139 , King D.Afonso III conquered . Monforte was finally ruled by the Moors in 1257 and gave the place its first town charter. King D Dinis had the castle of Monforte built in 1309 , presumably on the remains of the fortress that existed here .

In the revolution of 1383 Monforte stood on the Castilian side and resisted a siege by the passing through Nuno Álvares Pereira . However, the place suffered no disadvantages from its posture after the victory of the revolution and thus secured Portuguese independence, and Monforte retained its rights as a vila . King D. Manuel I renewed the town charter in 1512 as part of his administrative reform.

During the Restoration War (1640–1668), the king of the now independent Portugal, D. João IV. , Equipped the city with reinforced fortifications. Spanish troops managed to conquer the city in 1662 , which suffered some damage in the process. Monforte subsequently lost its importance. The independent circle of Monforte was dissolved in 1895 and Arronches was incorporated, but it was independent again in 1898 . After some houses in the town center had been demolished in 1889 in favor of larger squares, the city underwent further redesigns in the years 1913 to 1928 . The reason for this was the expropriations of church property after the Portuguese Republic was proclaimed in 1910, which were then sold to private and municipal owners. Larger roads were created, for which u. a. the city wall broke open.

Torre de Palma archaeological site

Culture and sights

The Villa Lusitano Romana de Torre de Palma , the excavation of a Roman villa, is considered the largest on the Iberian Peninsula. There is also a bridge from Roman times . Other archaeological sights in the district are a number of Antas and other prehistoric tombs. The city's architectural monuments include a. various sacred buildings , historical houses and public buildings, the bullring, the medieval castle Castelo de Monforte , and the characteristic clock tower Torre do relógio de Monforte from the 16th century.

The historic center of the city is also a listed building as a whole.

In the former church Igreja de Santa Maria Madalena the city museum is housed, in which especially photographs and sacred exhibits from the history of the district can be seen.

administration

circle

Monforte is the administrative seat of a district of the same name. The neighboring districts are (starting clockwise in the north): Crato , Portalegre , Arronches , Elvas , Borba , Estremoz , Fronteira and Alter do Chão .

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

Monforte district
local community Population
(2011) 		Area
km² 		Density of
population / km² 		LAU
code
Assumar 651 63.83 10 121101
Monforte 1,384 214.74 6th 121102
Santo Aleixo 638 58.51 11 121103
Vaiamonte 656 83.17 8th 121104
Monforte district 3,329 420.25 8th 1211

Population development

Population in the Monforte district (1801–2011)
1801 1849 1900 1930 1960 1981 1991 2001 2004 2011
2562 2618 5335 6829 7245 4281 3759 3393 3241 3329

Municipal holiday

  • Easter Monday

Town twinning

Antonio Sardinha

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Monforte, Portugal  - 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. ↑ 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 July 26, 2013
  5. ↑ The history of the city on the district administration website , accessed July 26, 2013
  6. ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on July 26, 2013
  7. ↑ ditto
  8. ↑ ditto
  9. ↑ ditto
  10. ^ The city museum on the website of the district administration , accessed on July 26, 2013
  11. ↑ www.anmp.pt , accessed on July 26, 2013