Elvas is a Portuguese municipality, an episcopal city and frontier fortress of
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...
, located in the district of
PortalegreThe District of Portalegre is located in the South of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre.-Municipalities:The district is composed by 15 municipalities:* Alter do Chão* Arronches* Avis* Campo Maior* Castelo de Vide* Crato...
in
AlentejoAlentejo is a south-central region of Portugal. Its name's origin, "Além-Tejo", literally translates to "Beyond the Tagus" or "Across the Tagus". The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve...
. It is situated about 230 km east of
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
, and about 15 km west of the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
fortress of
BadajozBadajoz is the capital of the Spanish province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257.Badajoz is the see of a bishopric...
, by the
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
-Badajoz-Lisbon railway. The city itself has a population of 28,106.
Elvas lies on a hill 8 km northwest of the river
GuadianaGuadiana , or Odiana, is one of the major rivers of Spain and Portugal. It forms part of the border between the two countries, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve ....
. It is defended by seven bastions and the two forts of Santa Luzia and Nossa Senhora da Graça.
Elvas is a Portuguese municipality, an episcopal city and frontier fortress of
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...
, located in the district of
PortalegreThe District of Portalegre is located in the South of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre.-Municipalities:The district is composed by 15 municipalities:* Alter do Chão* Arronches* Avis* Campo Maior* Castelo de Vide* Crato...
in
AlentejoAlentejo is a south-central region of Portugal. Its name's origin, "Além-Tejo", literally translates to "Beyond the Tagus" or "Across the Tagus". The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve...
. It is situated about 230 km east of
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
, and about 15 km west of the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
fortress of
BadajozBadajoz is the capital of the Spanish province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257.Badajoz is the see of a bishopric...
, by the
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
-Badajoz-Lisbon railway. The city itself has a population of 28,106.
History
Elvas lies on a hill 8 km northwest of the river
GuadianaGuadiana , or Odiana, is one of the major rivers of Spain and Portugal. It forms part of the border between the two countries, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve ....
. It is defended by seven bastions and the two forts of Santa Luzia and Nossa Senhora da Graça. Its late
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral, which has also many traces of Moorish influence in its architecture, dates from the reign of
Manuel I of PortugalManuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatriz of Portugal.His mother was the granddaughter of King John I of...
(1495-1521). A 6 km long
aqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
supplies the city with pure water; it was begun early in the 15th century and completed in 1622. For some distance it includes four tiers of superimposed arches, with a total height of 40 m. The surrounding lowlands are very fertile, and Elvas is known for its olives and plums, the last-named being exported, either fresh or dried, in large quantities.
BrandyBrandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by fermenting grapes. Brandy generally contains 36%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
is distilled and pottery manufactured in the city. The fortress of
Campo MaiorCampo Maior , population 7900, is a town and seat of the same-name municipality in the Portalegre district, Alentejo region, Portugal.The municipality has an area of 247,26 km² and a population of 8359 . It is divided into 3 parishes...
, 15 km to the northeast, is famous for its siege by the French and relief by the British under
Marshal BeresfordWilliam Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Count of Trancoso, 1st Marquess of Campo Maior GCB GCH GCTE , British soldier and politician, illegitimate son of George de la Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford.A general in the British Army and a marshal in the Portuguese army, who fought...
in 1811, an exploit commemorated in a ballad by Sir
Walter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet, popular throughout Europe during his time....
.
It was wrested from the Moors by Alphonso VIII of Castile in 1166; but was temporarily recaptured before its final occupation by the Portuguese in 1226. In 1570 it became an
episcopal seeAn episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
. From 1642 until modern times it was the chief frontier fortress south of the
TagusFor the ancient Thessalian title, see TagusThe Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula...
; and it twice withstood sieges by the Spanish, in 1658 and 1711. The French under
Marshal JunotJean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duc d'Abrantès was a French general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
took it in March 1808 during the
Peninsular WarThe Peninsular War was a contest between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars...
, but evacuated it in August, after the conclusion of the
Convention of SintraThe Convention of Sintra was an agreement signed on August 30, 1808 during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict...
.
Parishes
- Ajuda, Salvador e Santo Ildefonso
- Alcáçova
- Assunção
- Barbacena
- Caia e São Pedro
- Santa Eulália
- São Brás e São Lourenço
- São Vicente e Ventosa
- Terrugem
- Vila Boim
- Vila Fernando