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49-572: The pre-History of the Baixo Alentejo Subregion dates back to 200,000 B.C. when the territory was crossed by migratory Neanderthal peoples from the north of Europe in the Lower Paleolithic period. Until their extinction, around 28,000 B.C., Neanderthal man hunted and foraged in present-day Portugal. Later, the area was home to several cultures due to the abundance of minerals and its commercial and strategic place along

98-599: A transhumance which has left a unique cultural identity in the form of architecture, arts, music, song, and poetry expressing the daily activities of a people living on the land. In the middle of the 19th century, the surrounding municipal districts were reorganized and Castro Verde was formalized within its current boundaries: it had received its town charter ( Foral ) in 1510 by King Manuel I of Portugal . The municipality of Castro Verde developed its own particular cultural identity based on millenniums of interchange between cultural groups. From roots in mining and agricultural,

147-496: A consequence, dates back thousands of years, with the remains of Roman mining structures identifying the importance of this area to the expansion of Roman metallurgy . In addition to sulfide ore, this southern area of Lusitania , was an abundant source of other minerals, such as gold , silver , copper , tin , lead and iron . A large part of the municipality is covered by the European Union's Natura 2000 project; it

196-578: A regional centre of commerce and thus a crossroad of cultures within the Mediterranean area. The name origin of Castro Verde dates back to this early period, with two interpretations cited for its name. One postulates that the name was derived from the Roman Castra Castrorum and combined the verde (meaning "green" ) to indicate new . A more consistent interpretation is that the name was derived from Castrum Veteris , meaning

245-701: Is an administrative division in Portugal . It was created in 2009. It is also a NUTS3 subregion of the Alentejo Region . The seat of the intermunicipal community is Beja . Baixo Alentejo comprises 13 of the 14 municipalities of the Beja District . The population in 2011 was 126,692, in an area of 8,542.72 km . It is bordered on the North by Alentejo Central Subregion , on the East by Spain , on

294-540: Is crossed by other ribeiras (English: ravines or rivers ): Ribeira de Alvacar, Ribeira da Fontinha, Ribeira de Terges, Ribeira da Chada, Ribeira da Sete and Ribeira da Gata. The soils within the municipality are considered poor, having a reduced capacity to support agriculture, and thus limiting its productive use historically. The subsoils are made-up of essentially granular schists , greywacke , sandstone , and in some areas quartzite , as well as rare volcanic metamorphic particulates with reduced permeability. Further,

343-472: Is denoted as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for endangered species of steppe birds such as the great bustard and lesser kestrel . Castro Verde has a hot-summer mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ) with some Atlantic influence. It has hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The average annual temperature falls normally between 16–17 °C (61–63 °F). During the warmer months, maximum temperatures can reach or exceed 43 °C (109 °F); during

392-459: Is made up of extensive areas of rolling hills, geomorphological structures referred to as a peneplains , which vary in altitude from 300 to 900 ft (100–300 m.) above sea level. The area has planar relief, with a medium altitude of approximately 200 metres; the lowest point is about 110 metres, in the civil parish of São Marcos da Atabueira, near the Ribeira de Cobres (in northeast frontier with

441-598: Is said to have called for the first assembly of the estates-general ( Portuguese : Cortes Gerais ) of Portugal at Lamego , where he was given the crown from the Primate Archbishop of Braga , to confirm the Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León . This was a patriotic falsification perpetuated by the clergy, nobility, and supporters who promoted the restoration of Portuguese sovereignty and

490-637: The Almoravid governor of Córdoba , Muhammad Az-Zubayr Ibn Umar, identified as "King Ismar" in Christian chronicles. Learning that during his Battle of Valdevez against Alfonso VII of León , Muslim forces had attacked and destroyed Leiria and Trancoso , Afonso Henriques's anxiety at this incursion at his southern frontier hastened his negotiations with Alfonso VII of León, leading to the Treaty of Zamora and freeing Afonso Henriques's troops to deal with

539-521: The Campos de Ourique became the destination for many herds from Castela and Serra da Estrela , creating a new economic, social and cultural dimension to the municipality. Although the human ecology of this territory has been marked by the settlement of many civilizations all based on mining, cereal cultivation and cattle/sheep grazing, it was only in the beginning of the 14th century that territories became organized as distinct economic entities within

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588-624: The Guadiana river . During the Roman occupation, the extensive mining and warehousing of minerals required protective fortifications and mineral warehouses: in the Castro Verde territory there are remains of more than 20 such small structures. Along with mining activities, the area became a vast area of grain production and cattle/sheep-grazing. The richness and abundance of these combined 'base economies' grew to such extent that Castro Verde became

637-663: The Phoenician culture. The Tartessian culture was the precursors of the Turdetani peoples of the Roman period. Growth of settlements during the classic period were likely associated with the strategic importance of the Iberian Pyrite zone . Castro Verde lies along a transport route linking the mines of Aljustrel (20 km to the north) with the port city of Mértola (40 km to the east) situated on tributaries of

686-660: The oldest castro , to differentiate it from another castro that existed on a small plateau (where the Chapel of São Martinho exists) and was abandoned during the Middle Ages . The term castro derived from the Latin castrum refers to a small military encampment or fortification, built of large rocks. Roman occupation spanned four centuries and was followed by the migration of the Visigoths (300-700 A.C.) their expulsion by

735-861: The Christian lines farther north has led some historians to suggest various localities in central Portugal, abandoning the traditional idea that the combat occurred in Ourique in the Alentejo . It would have been difficult for the then Count of Portugal, with a realm little beyond the Mondego River , to go all the way south to battle five Muslim kings. One plausible alternative is Vila Chã de Ourique, some ten miles (16 km) from Santarém . However, incursions by Christian armies deep in Muslim territory were not unheard of. Alfonso VII had directed expeditions that had reached Cordoba and Seville , well beyond

784-476: The Mediterranean. The earliest settlements began with Celtiberians , from the central Iberian Peninsula around the 6th Century B.C., and were followed by the Celts . From the 3rd Century, tribal clans were replaced by organized oppidum , a fortified organized city with a defined territory that included many castro villages constructed from large boulders or earthworks . The first evidence of early cultures in

833-649: The Moors (in 711), and in turn, their expulsion from the area during the Christian Reconquista . The Battle of Ourique , where Afonso I triumphed over five Moorish Kings occurred in São Pedro das Cabeças, approximately five kilometres from the village of Castro Verde, and paved the way for the creation of the Kingdom of Portugal (in the Treaty of Zamora in 1143). As the legend of the Battle describes,

882-402: The Muslim attack. Historians are divided as to the location of this battle. At the time, the name "Ourique" designated a large area south of Beja . Since 12th-century chroniclers were unfamiliar with the region where the battle took place, they might have decided to call the location "field of Ourique" for lack of a more precise term. Nonetheless, the great distance that separated Ourique from

931-603: The Portuguese , as Afonso I , with the support from his troops, vanquishing and slaying, so legend says, five Muslim kings. The earliest accounts provide little detail. In one account the Muslim forces are led by five kings ( Life of St. Theotonius ), while in another, they are under the command of one king, Ismar ( Chronicles ). In the more detailed Chronicle of the Goths , Ismar waited until Henriques penetrated into Muslim territory, then systematically sent his troops from Seville , Badajoz , Elvas , Évora , and Beja against

980-584: The Portuguese count. It is thus possible that the five kings were actually the leaders of the Almoravid garrisons of each of the Andalusi cities, under the overall command of the Almoravid governor of Cordoba, Muhammad Az-Zubayr Ibn Umar. Further, the Portuguese forces were surrounded on the hilltop where they encamped, Ismar hosted knights, who were executed later by Henriques, and that the Muslim king escaped in defeat. Arabic and Spanish accounts do not clarify

1029-693: The South by the Algarve and on the West by Alentejo Litoral . It covers the Eastern part of the former Baixo Alentejo Province . It is composed of 13 municipalities: Battle of Ourique [REDACTED] Afonso Henriques The Battle of Ourique ( Arabic : معركة أوريكه ) took place on 25 July 1139, in which the forces of Portuguese count Afonso Henriques (of the House of Burgundy ) defeated those led by

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1078-427: The area of Castro Verde was the discovery of the ' Syllabary of Espança ' , which was found near the village of Neves-Corvo in the civil parish of Santa Bárbara de Padrões . This archaeological stone contains a Southwest Paleohispanic script , using Tartessian script and language , identified as being the most ancient paleohispanic script ; related to the Phoenician alphabet , it is the closest European connection to

1127-507: The battle lasted two days (between 24 and 25 July 1139) and was so excessively bloody that the waters of Ribeira de Cobres flowed the color of red. Afonso Henriques who was declared Prince of Portugal, after the Battle of São Mamede , defeated the Moorish kings (at the Battle of Ourique ), and was then proclaimed King upon the victory. But, although King Afonso was able to triumph, the region

1176-524: The battles between John and the Kingdom of Castile. Some modern authors claim that it is a creation of the monks, or forged by these, while not presenting evidence to support their theory, being, according to others, a long popular and royal belief tradition. The legend first appeared in the Crónica de Portugal de 1419 and was accepted as fact until Alexandre Herculano reexamined the event, judging it

1225-737: The chronicles of the battle. Saint James was widely venerated in Iberia (with a main centre of veneration in Santiago de Compostela , in Galicia , where his tomb was believed to be), being generally seen as the Matamouros , ' Moor -slayer'. As a consequence of Portuguese independence this legend was embellished with time to distance the Portuguese from Spanish devotional practices and beliefs. Later interpretations replaced Saint James with Saint George and, finally, with Jesus Christ . In

1274-452: The circumstances, and they even confuse the issue, identifying the Ismar as, alternatively, Ismar Abuzicri or Ismar and Abuzicri, with later historians identifying Abu Zakariya , the governor of Santarém, as the protagonist. It is also likely that the numbers were inflated by the chroniclers from a large-scale raid to grand assault by Muslim forces. Shortly after the battle, Afonso Henriques

1323-531: The claims of John IV , after the Iberian Union . The documents that refer to the estates-general were "deciphered" by Cistercian monks from the Monastery of Alcobaça to perpetuate the myth and justify the legitimacy of the Portuguese crown in the 17th century. The author of this falsification was Oliveira Marques, and even in 1632 there were misgivings about the validity of the chronicler's account or

1372-754: The coastal Algarve (along the A2 and I.C.1); to Lisbon via the A2; to Mértola (on the E.N. 123); to Almodôvar (along the E.N.2); and to Beja and Évora (on the I.P.2). Within the municipality, public transport connects all localities by at least one service (except on the weekends), and a national Express service connects Castro Verde communities to stations in Beja, Évora, Lisbon and Algarve, in addition to Tomar, Coimbra, Porto, Braga and Elvas. Notes Sources Baixo Alentejo Subregion The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Baixo Alentejo ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbai̯ʃu ɐlẽˈtɛʒu] ; English : Lower Alentejo )

1421-414: The community has transformed into a city, with future plans focused on the integration of Roman and Islamic architecture in modern eco-architecture. Cultural tourism has resurged to keep alive traditional art, music and poetry indigenous to the territory. The year 2010 marked year-long festivities to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the town charters of Castro Verde and Casével . The Castro Verde area

1470-667: The existence of the Cortes of Lamego The account continued to support the notion that a meeting of the Cortes occurred in the Church of Santa Maria de Almacave, in Lamego, in 1143. During this meeting, after being acclaimed by estates-general, Afonso Henriques accepted a group of laws on royal succession and excluded the Castilian line of kings from the Portuguese throne, made provisions for

1519-409: The existence of the Cortes of Lamego). In commemoration of the Battle of Ourique, the first Portuguese coat-of-arms appeared that included five small shields, to represent the five defeated Muslim kings (from one interpretation), which was later challenged by many authors. Some years later, the idea of a miraculous intervention in the battle by Saint James in favor of the Portuguese appeared in

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1568-445: The legend, Henriques was visited before the battle by an old man who saw in a dream that Henriques would be victorious because God would intervene in his favour. He advised the nobleman to leave the encampment alone when he heard the bell of the local chapel. Riding off he was surprised by a ray of light that showed him (in one interpretation) the sign of the cross and Jesus Christ on a crucifix. Henriques knelt in its presence and heard

1617-457: The limits of Castillian dominions, and in 1147 he managed to conquer the Mediterranean port of Almería , south of Granada. This was possible because the largest Almoravid armies were positioned at the frontier, while armies stationed in small towns would rather retreat into their castles than face a strong enemy force. It is feasible that Afonso led a raid into the Gharb , and then, while retreating,

1666-455: The municipality of Beja). The highest point, at 299 metres, is located at a geodesic marker (Urza) on the Cerro da Bandeira, within the civil parish of Castro Verde. Slopes in this area are between 0-2% grade, although pronounced (15%) along the ravines of Cobres and Maria Delgada, and the vicinity of Ribeira de Oeiras (near the border with Almodôvar ). In addition to these rivers, the municipality

1715-538: The municipality of Castro Verde is crossed by the Iberian Pyrite Belt , composed of a massive volcanogenic sulfide deposit (VMS) associated with the polymetallic flanks of volcanic cones in the form of pyrite , chalcopyrite , sphalerite , galena and cassiterite , that begins in Aljustrel , spreads through the lower Alentejo and extends into southern Spain. At a time when Portugal was separated by

1764-471: The new kingdom. During this post-reconquista era, the vast pasture-lands of the Castro Verde area were granted to nobility by King Denis ( the Farmer King ) which resulted in the management of thousands of hectares under rotational cultivation to become the bread basket of Portugal and the most important pastureland of the country. Over the centuries, the territory has been continually influenced by

1813-427: The nobility on justice and the independence of Portugal. However, even as Spanish jurists and diplomats later demonstrated that the document was not creditable, the Portuguese defended the authenticity of the account. Alexandre Herculano later recounted the patriotic re-imagining in his História de Portugal , which caused its own controversy, and was later perpetuated by the writings of Alfredo Pimenta (who defended

1862-586: The northern districts to the Algarve, and fundamental access to communication lines: The airports in Faro (100 km), Lisbon (190 km) and Sevilha (270 km) and the maritime port of Sines (95 km) are conveniently located to access other major centres. Connections to other locations within the country are made through the road network: to the Litoral Alentejo through Ourique (E.N. 123); to

1911-507: The plains of the Alentejo that front the Serra do Caldeirão. It is located in the district of Beja, and limited to the north by the municipalities of Beja and Aljustrel, south by the municipality of Almodôvar, east by the municipality of Mértola and west by the municipality of Ourique. Over the past few decades, the population has generally concentrated in the larger urban communities. In 1970,

1960-467: The population of the municipality was 9004 inhabitants, decreasing to 7472 by 1981. Ten years later, it had grown slowly to 7786 residents, although the recent census (2001) indicated a small decrease (fixed at 7603 inhabitants). The literacy rates are relatively high, although 15.7% are considered illiterate. This is accentuated by 70% of the resident population having attained only a primary school level of education. More than 50% of these residents live in

2009-514: The possession of the priory of the Comenda de Santiago , and its donatários , the Dukes of Aveiro . Castro Verde continued to operate as the central administrative centre and municipal seat, while Casével and Entradas won administrative autonomy. While mineral extraction continued to drive the economy, herding assumed a fundamental part of the regions economy as well. During the 16th and 17th Century,

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2058-477: The primary sector, 32.7% in secondary industries, while a majority (56.18%) are employed in tertiary services. This distribution is generally maintained in all communities in the municipality, except Santa Bárbara dos Padrões, where the Neves-Corvo mine is the main employer, and Entradas , where some agriculture and ranching occur. Castro Verde is located in a privileged location along a corridor that connects

2107-481: The result developments with the mining industry, and in particular the Neves-Corvo mining complex . Its activities, and related services, civil construction and public works have seen reciprocal growth in municipal services and population. There has also been a parallel growth in mining jobs related to this development, since 1979. There is a hierarchical distribution of the active workforce: 11.12% are employed in

2156-632: The sea from the rest of the Iberian Peninsula , a series of events connected to active and hydrothermal volcanism, lead to the formation of the volcano-sedimentary Pyrite complex (when the landmass of Portugal collided into the Iberian peninsula). Castro Verde lies on one of the most important extractive deposits in Europe, that is responsible for sustaining the economy of the region, albeit an area with elevated risk of erosion. Mining activity, as

2205-425: The town of Castro Verde (4820 residents); the remaining towns account for the rest: Casével, 365 inhabitants; Entradas, 774 inhabitants; Santa Bárbara dos Padrões, 1271 inhabitants; and São Marcos da Atabueira, 373 inhabitants. With an area 567.2 km2, these communities are scattered in various medium to small localities divided into four civil parishes (Portuguese: freguesias ): Population growth has primarily been

2254-481: The voice of Christ, who told him he would defeat the Almoravids, which he, through courage and his faith, succeeded the following day. The legend of the miracle of the Battle of Ourique served thus as a political instrument to defend Portuguese independence as divine will. Yet, the legend, possibly earlier, knows its first known record in the early 15th century by the monks of the Monastery of Santa Cruz , during

2303-438: The winter, night temperatures can sometimes fall below the freezing point (eight days per year on average). Annual precipitation averages around 450 to 500 millimetres (18 to 20 in), 32% of which is concentrated in the two wettest months, November and December, while July and August are the driest receiving some or no precipitation. Castro Verde Municipality is situated within an area commonly known as "Campo Branco", within

2352-702: Was intercepted by a sizable Almoravid force intending to crush his army and recover the spoils taken by the Portuguese. Before the battle, Count Afonso was hailed as rex (king) by his men in the Germanic fashion, by being lifted atop his shield by the leading nobles of Portugal. Despite the fact that the Christian Portuguese forces were strongly outnumbered, the Muslim armies were weakened by internal leadership problems, which led to Afonso Henriques's victory and subsequently his proclamation as King of

2401-591: Was never definitely secured by the Portuguese until the regin of King Sancho II , around 1234, when the Castle of Aljustrel was captured. Later, the Royal Basilica of Castro Verde was commissioned by King Sebastian of Portugal in 1573 to mark the Christian victory over the Moors, with the walls of the central nave covered in azulejos immortalizing the famous battle. The region of Castro Verde passed into

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