Abrantes is a
municipalityIn Portugal, municipality or concelho is the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country. A list of the current municipalities can be found in: list of municipalities of Portugal....
in
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
on the right bank of the Tagus River,at the junction of the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway with the Guarda-Abrantes line, with a total area of 714.7 km² and a total population of 41,560 inhabitants (up from 7255 in 1900). The municipality contains the city of
Abrantes, Portugal
The present mayor is Nélson Marques Carvalho, elected by the Socialist Party and the president of the
Municipal AssemblyMunicipal assembly may refer to:* Assembleia Municipal in Portugal* Municipal assembly * People's Municipal Assembly in Algeria* Town meeting in the United States...
is Jorge Lacão Costa, also elected by the Socialist Party.
Parishes
The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes (administrative districts):
- Abrantes (São João
São João or São João Baptista is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. It is one of the three parishes that compose the city of Abrantes. The parish has a population of 1,850 inhabitants and a total area of 2.27 km², being the smallest parish in the...
)
- Abrantes (São Vicente
São Vicente is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. It composed the northern part of the city of Abrantes. The parish has a population of 10,698 inhabitants and a total area of 38.64 km². It is the most populated parish in the municipality....
)
- Aldeia do Mato
Aldeia do Mato is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 560 inhabitants and a total area of 31.40 km²....
- Alferrarede
Alferrarede is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 3,831 inhabitants and a total area of 23.62 km²....
- Alvega
Alvega is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. It stands on the left bank of the river Tagus. The parish has a population of 1,729 inhabitants and a total area of 56.44 km²....
- Bemposta
Bemposta is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 2,252 inhabitants and a total area of 187.73 km²....
- Carvalhal
Carvalhal is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 1,006 inhabitants and a total area of 17.45 km² ....
- Concavada
Concavada is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 734 inhabitants and a total area of 19.89 km²....
- Fontes
Fontes is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 819 inhabitants and a total area of 28.48 km²....
- Martinchel
Martinchel is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 713 inhabitants and a total area of 17.10 km²....
- Mouriscas
Mouriscas is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 1,946 inhabitants and a total area of 34.98 km²....
- Pego
Pego is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 2,570 inhabitants and a total area of 36.08 km². The parish is the fifth most populous in the municipality....
- Rio de Moinhos
Rio de Moinhos is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 1,388 inhabitants and a total area of 20.06 km²....
- Rossio ao Sul do Tejo
Rossio ao Sul do Tejo is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, Santarém District. It stands on the left bank of the river Tagus. The parish has a population of 2,227 inhabitants and a total area of 6.61 km²....
- São Facundo
São Facundo is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in district of Santarém. The parish has a population of 1,133 inhabitants and a total area of 77.93 km²....
- São Miguel do Rio Torto
São Miguel do Rio Torto is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. It stands on the left bank of the river Tagus...
- Souto
Souto is a Portuguese parish, not to be mistaken with the Galician village of the same name, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District...
- Tramagal
Tramagal is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 4,043 and a total area of 24.06 km². The parish is the second-most populous in the municipality....
- Vale das Mós
Vale das Mós is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Abrantes, in Santarém District. The parish has a population of 747 inhabitants and a total area of 23.42 km²....
History
As it commands the highway down the Tagus valley to Lisbon, occupying the crest of a hill covered with olive woods, gardens and vines, the fortified town has usually been regarded as an important military position.
It is believed that the city was originally established during the Celtic period as an Iberian settlement, about 300 B.C., although the name Abrantes comes from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
Aurantes perhaps owing to the alluvial gold (
aurum) found along the Tagus. Roman mosaics, coins, the remains of an aqueduct, and other antiquities have been discovered in the neighborhood.
Since 1172 (in the reign of Alfonso I), Abrantes was the Spanish military Order of Saint James of Compostela's first commandery in Portugal, where it soon became a distinct order, which
Pope Nicholas IVPope Nicholas IV , born Girolamo Masci, was Pope from February 22, 1288 to April 4, 1292. A Franciscan monk, he had been legate to the Greeks under Pope Gregory X in 1272, succeeded Bonaventure as general of his order in 1274, was made Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede and Latin Patriarch of...
in 1290 released from the jurisdiction of the Spanish grand master in Uclés.
It was the seat of Portuguese marquesses, one of which was an early patron of the Brazilian-born versatile scientist, naturalist and pioneering inventor-aeronaut
Bartholomeu Lourenço de GusmãoBartolomeu de Gusmão, born Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão , was a priest and naturalist born in the Portuguese colony of Brazil, recalled for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design.He began his novitiate in the Society of Jesus at Bahia when he was about fifteen years old, but left the...
.
Abrantes was captured on the 24th of November 1807 by the French under General Junot, for which achievement it was created by Napoleon I a
victory titleA victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires,...
of ducal rank in chief of Abrantès for
Jean-Andoche JunotJean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duc d'Abrantès was a French general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
in 1808 (hereditary, extinguished in 1859, but then extended in female line 1869, finally also extinguished in 1985). By the Convention of Cintra (22 August 1808) the town was restored to the British and Portuguese.
Abrantes was made a city in 14 June 1916, which is celebrated every year on this same day.
Sources and References
External links