Batalha, Portugal

Municipality in Centro, Portugal

Batalha Town

Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 39°39′29″N 8°49′28″W﻿ / ﻿39.65806°N 8.82444°W﻿ / 39.65806; -8.82444
Country|  Portugal
Region| Centro
Intermunic. comm.| Região de Leiria
District| Leiria
Parishes| 4
Area

• Total

| 103.42 km2 (39.93 sq mi)
Population

(2011)

• Total

| 15,805
• Density| 150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Website| www.cm-batalha.pt

Batalha (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɐˈtaʎɐ] ⓘ), officially Batalha Town (Portuguese: Vila da Batalha), is a town and a municipality in historical Beira Litoral province, and Leiria district in the Centro of Portugal. The town's name means "battle". The municipality population in 2011 was 15,805,[1] in an area of 103.42 km2 (39.93 sq mi).[2] The town proper has around 8,548 inhabitants in an area of 28.42 km2 (10.97 sq mi).[3] The municipality is limited to the North and West by the municipality of Leiria, to the East by Ourém, to the Southeast by Alcanena and to the Southwest by Porto de Mós.

The town was founded by King D. João I of Portugal, jointly with the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha (a World Heritage Site), to pay homage to the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota (14 August 1385) that put an end to the 1383–1385 Crisis.

## History

[edit]

Although there are countless traces throughout the region that allude to a human occupation since prehistoric times, passing through the Roman period and, successively, throughout history (it is believed that the Roman settlement of Collipo, originally of the Turduli people, established in São Sebastião do Freixo), Vila da Batalha owes its origin to the construction of the Santa Maria da Vitória Monastery. In fact, Batalha was born with the Avis Dynasty and the consolidation of Independence in 1385.[4]

The administrative figure of the parishes is only drawn and defined throughout the second half of the 19th century, with Liberalism, so that on 14 September 1512, when the Prior-Major of Santa Cruz de Coimbra, D. Pedro Vaz Gavião, creates the parish of Batalha, it is evidently the seat that, however, delimits and is the first form of future civil parish.[4]

## Demography

[edit]

Population of the municipality of Batalha (1801–2011)

1801  | 1849  | 1900  | 1930  | 1960  | 1981  | 1991  | 2001  | 2004  | 2011
2510  | 2445  | 7107  | 9634  | 13 811  | 12 588  | 13 329  | 15 002  | 15 542  | 15 805

## Monuments

[edit]

Details of Gothic architecture in the Monastery of Batalha Statue of Nuno Álvares Pereira, next to Batalha Monastery

* Batalha Monastery
* Estátua Equestre de São Nuno de Santa Maria (1966–1968)
* Igreja Matriz de Exaltação de Santa Cruz (1514–1532)
* Capela da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (18th century)
* Ponte da Boutaca (1862)
* Pelourinho (Restored in 2000)
* Edifício Mouzinho de Albuquerque – Galeria de Exposições
* Capela de Nossa Senhora do Caminho
* Boca da Mina das Barrojeiras
* Igreja Paroquial Nossa Senhora dos Remédios
* Ermida de Nossa Senhora do Fetal
* Moinhos de Vento

## Natural heritage

[edit]

Grutas da Moeda

* Grutas da Moeda
* Estremadura Limestone Massif
* Buraco Roto
* Pia da Ovelha
* Escarpa de falha do Reguengo do Fetal

## Parishes

[edit]

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):[5]

* Batalha
* Golpilheira
* Reguengo do Fetal
* São Mamede

## International relations

[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Portugal

Batalha is twinned with:

* Trujillo, Spain (since 1992)[6]
* Joinville-le-Pont, France (since 2008)[7]

## Notable people

[edit]

* Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque (1855 in Batalha – 1902) a Portuguese cavalry officer.
* Olegário Benquerença (born 1969 in Batalha) a retired Portuguese football referee.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
2. ^ "Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país". Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
3. ^ "Dados Estatísticos". Freguesia de Batalha (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 29 May 2021.
4. ^ a b "História". Freguesia de Batalha (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
5. ^ Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 24" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
6. ^ "Geminações de Cidades e Vilas – Batalha". www.anmp.pt. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
7. ^ "Joinville-le-Pont – Portal do Município da Batalha". cm-batalha.pt. Retrieved 28 October 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Batalha.

* Photos from Batalha
* Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace Batalha Pages (photos)
* Camara Municipal da Batalha
* Monastery of Batalha

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities of Leiria District

* Alcobaça
* Alvaiázere
* Ansião
* Batalha
* Bombarral
* Caldas da Rainha
* Castanheira de Pera
* Figueiró dos Vinhos
* Leiria
* Marinha Grande
* Nazaré
* Óbidos
* Pedrógão Grande
* Peniche
* Pombal
* Porto de Mós

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

Other|

* Yale LUX

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