Serpa

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Serpa
coat of arms map
Serpa coat of arms
Serpa (Portugal)
Serpa
Basic data
Region : Alentejo
Sub-region : Baixo Alentejo
District : Be yes
Concelho : Serpa
Coordinates : 37 ° 57 ′  N , 7 ° 36 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 57 ′  N , 7 ° 36 ′  W
Residents: 15,623 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 1 105.63  km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 14 inhabitants per km²
Postal code : 7830
Serpa County
flag map
Flag of Serpa Location of Serpa County
Residents: 15,623 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 1 105.63  km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 14 inhabitants per km²
Number of municipalities : 5
administration
Administration address: Câmara Municipal de Serpa
Praça da República
7830-389 Serpa
President of the Câmara Municipal: Tomé Pires ( CDU )
Website: www.cm-serpa.pt

Serpa is a city in the southern Alentejo in Portugal with almost 7000 inhabitants. It is considered the capital of the Cante Alentejano , a traditional choral singing of the region that has been recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage since 2014 .

history

The Serpa area was inhabited by the Bronze Age at the latest . There was a place called Serpa even under Roman rule. It was already known to the Geographus Ravennas (306, 6).

With the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors, which began in 711, Serpa was also taken. In the power struggles between the regional rulers, the castle, which was difficult to conquer, played a role again and again, for example for Abd ar-Rahman, who based his power on the castles of Badajoz and Serpa from 868 until his death in 889 . In the 11th century the region was ruled by the Galician Ibn Marwan in sharp rivalry with Mérida . From this came the emirate of the aftasids . However, they lost Mértola in 1033 and Silves in 1040, and probably also Serpa, to the Abbadids of Seville . Serpa is believed to have fallen to the Almoravids in the 1080s .

In 1166 Serpa was conquered, along with a number of other cities, by Geraldo Sem-Pavor , a legendary figure, and handed over to the Portuguese king Afonso Henriques . But he could not hold out against the Almohads for long. The battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 strengthened the Christian kingdoms against the Muslim territories.

Serpa became finally Christian between 1232 and 1234. On November 25, 1239, Pope Gregory IX. the crusade of the Infante Fernando, who was lord of Serpa, under his protection. The crusaders should meet in Serpa. Alfonso de Molina , son of King Alfonso IX, took part in this crusade . from León . It is unclear whether the crusade came about, but the Infante will have used the funds from the crusade to conquer some castles. In any case, the Muslim areas in Portugal were cut off from those in Spain.

Serpa came to Portugal in 1267, and the border between Spain and Portugal has not changed since then. It was proclaimed a district by King Dinis , who also had Serpa Castle and a continuous city wall built in 1295.

In 1512 Serpa received city rights from King Manuel I. The location of the city near the border with Spain led to repeated war-related destruction. Serpa was severely damaged several times in the fighting for the castle. In 1707, Spanish troops conquered the city, as did Moura .

administration

The town hall ( Câmara Municipal ) of Serpa

Serpa County

Serpa is the seat of a district of the same name that borders on Spain to the east . The neighboring districts are (starting clockwise in the north): Vidigueira , Moura , Mértola and Beja .

With the regional reform in September 2013 , several municipalities were merged, so that their number decreased from seven to five.

The following municipalities ( freguesias ) are in Serpa County:

Serpa County
local community Population
(2011) 		Area
km² 		Density of
population / km² 		LAU
code
Brinches 1,039 92.40 11 021302
Pias 2,852 163.86 17th 021303
Serpa (Salvador e Santa Maria) 6.233 443.73 14th 021308
Vila Nova de Sao Bento e Vale de Vargo 4,040 300.25 13 021309
Vila Verde de Ficalho 1,459 105.39 14th 021307
Serpa County 15,623 1,105.63 14th 0213

There is a large solar power plant with an output of 11 MW in the vicinity of Serpa.

  • View of the roofs of Serpa

  • View of Serpa Castle and the remains of the city walls

  • The dragon is Serpa's heraldic animal

Population development

Number of inhabitants in Serpa County (1801–2011)
1801 1849 1900 1930 1960 1981 1991 2001 2011
7,512 9,662 17,357 29,445 32,476 20,784 17,915 16,723 15,627

Municipal holiday

  • Tuesday after Easter Sunday

Town twinning

Cooperation Agreement:

sons and daughters of the town

  • José Correia da Serra

  • Francisco Manuel de Melo Breyner, 4th Count of Ficalho

  • Carlos Callixto

  • Nicolau Breyner

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b 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. ^ Joseph F. O'Callaghan: Reconquest and crusade in medieval Spain , University of Pennsylvania Press 2003, pp. 109f.
  4. ^ Publication of the administrative reorganization in the Diário da República gazette of January 28, 2013, accessed on March 16, 2014
  5. ↑ www.anmp.pt , accessed on February 3, 2013