Caldas da Rainha
Encyclopedia
Caldas da Rainha (ˈkaɫdɐʒ ðɐ ʁɐˈiɲɐ) is a city (cidade) in western central Portugal
. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality
(município or concelho) of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste
(West Intermunicipal Community). The city is best known for its hot springs and pottery.
The city was founded in the 15th century by Queen Leonor
, who established a hospital at the site of some therapeutic hot spring
s. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the world, with five centuries of history. The city's name means "Queen's Hot Springs" or "Queen's Spa".
Caldas da Rainha is home to many arts-related institutions. There are numerous museums in the city, mostly related to ceramics and sculpture. The city is home to a major arts and design school, as well as a school of ceramics. In 2008, the municipal government inaugurated a new cultural center.
As of the 2011 census, the municipality has a population of 51,645, and the city (the civil parishes of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre) has 27,429 residents.
Caldas da Rainha was founded by Queen Leonor
, wife of King João II
. One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she found a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. She stopped to inquire about this oddity and was told that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them for herself. She was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of some affliction she had been suffering (exactly what is not known). On that site, the queen ordered a thermal hospital built so that others may enjoy the relief that she felt. Construction began the following year, 1485. Although the first patients were admitted in 1488, construction was not completed until about 1496 or 1497. The name of the settlement that grew up around the site (Caldas da Rainha), refers to both its founder and the reason for its existence.
On March 21, 1511, King Manuel
conferred the status of town
(Portuguese: vila) upon Caldas da Rainha. The town was elevated to the status of city (cidade) in September 1927.
In the early 20th century, it had a significant artistic and intellectual life. During World War II
, in which Portugal was a neutral country, hundreds of Jewish refugees came to Caldas da Rainha to escape Nazism
. During the war, Caldas also served as home to British
and American
airmen
who landed or crashed in Portugal or off its coast.
In a prelude to the Carnation Revolution
, on the night of March 15–16, 1974, the Fifth Infantry Regiment, based in Caldas da Rainha in what is now the Escola de Sargentos do Exército, attempted to stage a coup d'état
against the country's authoritarian
Estado Novo.
Caldas da Rainha's coat of arms
was granted by Queen Leonor, before municipal coats of arms were typically used in Portugal. Because of its early introduction, several elements of the arms violate Portuguese heraldic
standards. For example, Portuguese coat of arms typically feature a mural crown, made up of brick towers. Caldas da Rainha's arms feature a gold crown. The arms lack the typical banner bearing the municipality's name. The shield is much longer than the normal 8:7 ratio. The two smaller shields surrounding the main shield are also not in keeping with Portuguese heraldic rules.
and 9° 08' W longitude
. The municipality comprises an area of 255.7 square kilometres (98.7 sq mi) (2004 statistics). The city is located approximately 82 kilometres (51 mi) north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon
. Although the municipality borders the Atlantic Ocean
, the city proper is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the ocean.
Caldas da Rainha is located in the NUTS
III subregion named Oeste, which forms part of the NUTS II region known as Centro, which is part of the NUTS I subdivision called Portugal Continental
(Continental/Mainland Portugal).
Caldas da Rainha is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste
(West Intermunicipal Community). The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste is legislatively coterminous with the Oeste NUTS III subregion. Before becoming an Intermunicipal Community, Oetse was a Comunidade Urbana (urban community), a designation abolished in August 2008.
Caldas da Rainha is in Estremadura
, a historical province with no current legal status. The municipality is in the district of Leiria
. Districts are being phased out, but still serve as a primary administrative division.
The municipality is bordered to the north by Alcobaça
, to the east by Rio Maior
and to the south by Bombarral
, Cadaval
and Óbidos.
The postal code
for Caldas da Rainha is 2500. Its telephone area code
is 262.
es (Portuguese: freguesia
s). They are:
Between the 2001 and 2011 census
es, the population of the municipality of Caldas da Rainha increased 5.7% from 48,846 residents to 51,645. The city of Caldas da Rainha (comprising the civil parishes of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre) saw an increase of 8.7% from 25,228 residents to 27,429.
The executive
body of the municipal government is the Câmara Municipal
(municipal chamber). Dr. Fernando José da Costa (PSD
) is the president
of the câmara, effectively the mayor
of Caldas da Rainha. The other members are Maria da Coneição Feliciano Antunes Bretts Jardim Pereira (PSD), Fernando Manuel Tinta Ferreira (PSD), Dr. Hugo Patrício Martinho de Oliveira (PSD), Eng. Delfim Marques de Azevedo (PS
), Dr. Rui José Antunes da Cunha Simões Correia (PS), Manuel Fialho Isaque
(CDS/PP).
The legislative
body of municipal government is the 37-member Assembleia Municipal
(municipal assembly). Luís Manuel Pereira Monteiro Ribeiro is president
of the assembly. José Fernando d’Almeida Silva Pereira serves as the first secretary. Virgílio Leal dos Santos, who is president of the civil parish executive body (junta de freguesia) of Alvorninha, serves as the second secretary.
The presidents of the each of the sixteen juntas de freguesia
serve on the assembly:
The other members of the assembly are:
As of December 31, 2004, there are 2,075 business firms in the municipality. 3.9% are in the primary sector (agriculture), 20.9% are in the secondary sector (manufacturing) and 75.3% are in the tertiary sector (services).
There are 31 banking institutions, with deposits totaling €
518,021,400.
As of 2001, 49% of the population is employed, while 6.5% are unemployed. (The remainder are too young, are retired or do not otherwise participate in the workforce.)
shopping area, with a variety of shops specializing in clothing, jewelry, beauty supplies, home decoration, housewares, and other goods. Among the main shopping areas are Rua do Heróis da Grande Guerra, Rua das Montras (officially, Rua Almirante Cândido dos Reis), Rua da Liberdade, and surrounding streets.
Several international chains have locations in Caldas da Rainha, including
AKI,
Mango
,
McDonald's
, and
Staples.
There are numerous supermarket
s and hypermarket
s in Caldas da Rainha, including
Aldi
,
Casaleiro,
E.Leclerc
,
Intermarché,
Lidl
,
Minipreço
(2),
Modelo,
Pão de Açúcar
,
Pingo Doce
(three locations), and
Ponto Fresco.
Several small indoor shopping centers, most with only a handful of stores, exist throughout the city.
The Associação Comercial dos Concelhos das Caldas da Rainha e Óbidos (ACCCRO, founded in 1902 as the Associação Comercial e Industrial de Caldas da Rainha) aims to promote traditional commerce in Caldas da Rainha and neighboring Óbidos. The association aims to publicize smaller businesses located in the municipalitys' centers, which feel threatened by the increasing popularity of larger businesses, such as malls and hypermarkets usually found on the outskirts.
operated by FDO Imobiliária, was inaugurated on November 25, 2008, and opened to the public the following day. The center is located adjacent to the site of the Hotel Lisbonense, which is being rebuilt. Vivaci's four floors contain sixty stores
, including fourteen restaurant
s, a five-screen movie theater
(Cinemas Vivacine in partnership with Zon Lusomundo), a supermarket (Pão de Açúcar
), and ATMs
(Millenium bcp
).
, was scheduled to open in 2010 with ninety-five stores and 1,100 parking spaces. Sonae Sierra planned to invest 56 million euro
s in the 24000 square metres (28,703.8 sq yd) center. The late-2000s financial crisis
caused Sonae Sierra to postpone the project. The center will be located across from the existing Continente Modelo hypermarket and will be connected to it by a pedestrian bridge over the street.
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
and Mayor
Fernando José da Costa inaugurated the Centro Cultural e de Congressos (CCC), a cultural and conference center. The center hosts music
, theatre
, dance
, and cinema
, as well as various exposition
s and conferences
.
The center's grand auditorium
contains 660 seats and a 600 square metres (717.6 sq yd) stage. The smaller auditorium can seat up to 150. A multi-use space of 240 square metres (287 sq yd) can be subdivided into four rooms. A concert café seats 60. The rehearsal
space is as large as the main stage.
Caldas da Rainha is well known for its glazed ceramic
pottery
(louça das Caldas). At the end of the 19th century, the ceramic industry set up place here, making the city Portugal's ceramic and pottery capital. Ancient references to pottery manufacturing can be found in the area, with soils rich in clay
. A nearby village's name, Bombarral
, can be translated as "good-clay pit
", revealing that the pottery tradition has been settled here since ancient times. The typical Caldas pottery has evolved since its great boom in early 20th century, but the main types are still the same.
Caldas da Rainha's pottery falls into two main categories: utilitarian housewares, such as plates, bowls, platters, mugs, and tureen
s; and purely decorative items, such as caricature
figurine
s and ceramic phallus
es of various sizes. Even useful articles usually serve a decorative purpose as well. One popular model, created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
, is a cabbage-shaped soup tureen, which can be displayed on a shelf or as a centerpiece when not in use.
One of the most popular decorative figures is Zé Povinho
, a bearded peasant everyman
character created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
. A symbol of Portugal and the Portuguese people, Zé Povinho appears in many jocular, defiant poses.
The ceramics are available for purchase at stands in the daily market at Praça da República (Praça da Fruta) and shops in the vicinity. They are also available in stores outside Portugal, including a number of up-market housewares stores.
has a beach on Atlantic Ocean, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the center of town. The Lagoa de Óbidos
, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean, is a lagoon located on the border with Óbidos near Foz do Arelho. Salir do Porto
has a beach on the Atlantic Ocean.
church near the thermal hospital. It was built around the year 1500 by order of Queen Leonor. The church has two associated chapels: Capela de São Sebastião and Capela do Espírito Santo. The Ermida da São Sebastião is a 16th century chapel
, adjacent to Praça da República. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a 20th century church located on Praça 25 de Abril.
s are located in Caldas da Rainha. The Centro de Artes (arts center) hosts three museums of sculpture
: the Museu-Atelier António Duarte, the Museu-Atelier João Fragoso, and the Museu Barata Feyo. The Museu de Cerâmica exhibits ceramic works of art, as does the Casa-Museu de São Rafael. The Museu do Hospital e das Caldas features exhibits related to the thermal hospital and the city. The Museu José Malhoa
is an art museum located in Parque D. Carlos I.
is a large park
in the center of town. The José Malhoa Museum
sits in the middle of the park. The park contains a doughnut
-shaped pond
with a small island in the center. Visitors can rent rowboats on the pond.
Praça da República (Republic Plaza) is a public square
in the center of town. The plaza
, also known as Praça da Fruta (Fruit Plaza), hosts Portugal's only daily farmers' market
. The plaza is surrounded by buildings, most containing shops, banks, and café
s on the ground floor.
Praça 5 de Outubro (October 5 Plaza) formerly hosted the city's open-air fish market, which has since moved to an indoor location (Mercado do Peixe). The plaza is now used for outdoor café seating and free cultural events. A parking garage sits underground below the plaza.
A statue of Queen Queen Leonor stands in the middle of the roundabout at Largo Conde de Fontalva, typically called Largo da Rainha. The iconic monument serves as a landmark and marks the entrance to the historic city center when approaching from the south on N8/N115/N360 or from the west on the N360.
Caldas da Rainha has a train station
served by the Linha do Oeste
(western line) of Comboios de Portugal
. Regional trains, which make frequent local stops, run south to Lisbon
and north to Figueira da Foz
. Most regional trips reach only the suburbs of Lisbon, where passengers can transfer to a commuter train to reach the capital. Interregional trains, which make select stops, run south to Lisbon and north to Figueira da Foz (a few times daily) or Coimbra
(once daily). All trains serving Caldas da Rainha begin or end their trips there; no through service stops at Caldas da Rainha. Other train stops in the municipality are Campo-Serra, Bouro, and Salir do Porto
.
As part of the deal to help Portugal overcome its debt burden, the government announced that it will discontinue passenger service on the Linha do Oeste north of Caldas da Rainha by the end of 2011.
(terminal rodoviário) located in the city center.
Rede Nacional de Expressos
provides express bus service to various destinations in the country.
Rodoviária do Tejo
provides rapid ("express" by another name) and interurban services to destinations in its service area (cities and towns surrounding Caldas da Rainha, Leiria
, Santarém
, and Torres Novas
), as well as to Lisbon
.
Rocaldas-Empresa de transportes Auto-Penafiel, Lda. services outlying, suburban, and rural areas near the city. Their buses do not use the bus station.
and commemorates everyman figure Zé Povinho
, whose image appears on the buses.
TOMA service consists of three routes: Linha Azul (Blue Line), Linha Laranja (Orange Line), and Linha Verde (Green Line). The Blue line uses two minibuses and runs between the western and eastern ends of town. The Orange and Green lines each operate using a single twenty-nine-seat minibus on loop routes.
TOMA service runs from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:00 a.m to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, with no service on Sundays. All routes operate at thirty-minute intervals.
Since August 16, 2011, a trip on TOMA costs €1.10 without a pass (called TTT – Título de Transporte do TOMA) and €0.55 with a pass. Passengers receive volume discounts for purchasing multiple trips simultaneously. They can also purchase passes for unlimited rides for given number of days. On January 9, 2008, the city council announced that persons in wheelchair
s would ride free of charge.
In May 2008, the municipality announced TOMA's third route, Linha Azul (Blue Line), which serves the northern areas of the city not included in the two first-phase routes. The new route operates using two buses, rather than the single bus used by each of the other two routes. Introduction of the new line was delayed, because the company that won the bid to operate the line decided not to undertake the project after all. The municipality inaugurated the new route on September 19, 2009, Public Transport Day.
On westbound trips, the Blue line stops at:
On eastbound trips, the Blue line stops at:
The Linha Laranja (Orange Line) was inaugurated on May 15, 2007, as part of the first phase of TOMA service. This loop route stops at:
The Linha Verde (Green Line) was inaugurated on May 15, 2007, as part of the first phase of TOMA service. This loop route stops at:
is a significant population and employment center in the municipality, just north of the city on the N8 (aka EN8) roadway. Many residents complain of poor public transportation options. In reality, many buses operated by Rodoviário do Tejo or Rocaldas (aka Empresa de Transportes Auto Penafiel) pass through and stop in Tornada, though all are designed for further destinations. The municipal government in cooperation with the two bus operators, has undertaken "Projecto Tornada" to produce and disseminate a combined schedule of services, to coordinate and improve bus stops on N8, and to improve pedestrian access along N8. Conclusion of the project is set for the beginning of 2010.
. Two motorways (auto-estradas), both operated by Auto-Estradas do Atlântico
, serve the municipality. The A8
(also known as Auto-estrada do Oeste and as IC1) goes south to Lisbon
, Loures
, Torres Vedras
, and Bombarral
and north to Leiria
, Marinha Grande, Alcobaça
, and Nazaré. The A15 goes west to Santarém
via Rio Maior
. IP 6 is a main route (itinerário principal) connecting to Peniche, Santarém
, Castelo Branco
, and Spain
.
Several national roads (estradas nacionais), which are older and not as well-maintained as motorways and main routes, serve the municipality. EN 8 (N8) crosses the municipality from north to south, connecting to Alcobaça and Leiria to the north and Óbidos, Bombarral, Torres Vedras, and Loures to the south. EN 8 runs through the center of the city, although the part of its route along Rua dos Heróis da Grande Guerra is now a pedestrian zone. EN 8 was the municipality's main roadway before the A8 motorway was built.
EN 114 (N114), in the center and southeast of the municipality, goes to Peniche, Rio Maior and Santarém. EN 114-1 (N114-1), in the center and east of the municipality, connects to EN 114. EN 115 (N115), along the south and southwest border of the municipality, runs to Cadaval
. EN 360 (N360) crosses the municipality southwest to northeast, connecting to Alcobaça. EN 361 (N361), in the southwest of the municipality, connects to Cadaval and Rio Maior.
in Caldas da Rainha.
Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Caldas da Rainha (ESAD.CR), founded in 1990, is a school of the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria
(IPL). ESAD offers courses in plastic arts, industrial design
, ceramic design
, graphic design
, multimedia
design, theatre
and sound
& image
.
Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (ESB) da Universidade Católica Portuguesa offers courses in biotechnology
. The Caldas da Rainha campus, founded in 1999, is an extension of ESB's Porto
base.
freguesia and Escola Secundária Raúl Proença is located in the neighborhood of Bairro do Arneiros in Santo Onofre
freguesia.
Caldas da Rainha has three basic schools
(escolas básicas) for the second and third cycles (segundo (2°) ciclo, years five and six; and terceiro (3°) ciclo, years seven through nine). E.B. 2,3 D. João II is located in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo
freguesia and offers the second and third cycles only. EBI 1,2,3 Santo Onofre is located in the neighborhood of Bairro das Morenas in Santo Onofre
freguesia and offers the first, second, and third cycles. EBI de Santa Catarina, located in Santa Catarina
freguesia, offers kindergarten, first, second, and third cycle classes.
Caldas da Rainha has 48 schools for the first cycle (primeiro (1°) ciclo, years one though four) located throughout the municipality. The schools, together with the kindergartens, are divided into five geographic groups for administrative purposes. They are located at A-dos-Francos, Alvorninha, Antas, Avenal, Bairradas, Bairro da Ponte, Bairro dos Arneiros, Cabreiros, Campo, Carreiros, Carvalhal Benfeito, Casais da Serra, Casal da Areia, Casal da Marinha, Casal das Freiras, Chão da Parada, Coto, Cumeira, Encosta do Sol, Espinheira, Fanadia, Foz do Arelho, Guisado, Lagoa Parceira, Mata, Mestras, Moita, Nadadouro, Parque, Peso, Rabaceira, Ramalhosa, Reguengo da Parada, Relvas, Ribeira dos Amiais, Rostos, Salir de Matos, Salir do Porto, Santa Catarina (E.B.I. 0,1,2,3), Santa Susana, Santo Onofre (E.B.I. 1,2,3), São Clemente, São Gregório, Tornada, Trabalhias, Vidais, Vila Verde, and Zambujal.
Caldas da Rainha has 27 kindergarten
s (jardims de infância). They are located at A-dos-Francos, Antas, Avenal, Bairro dos Arneiros, Carreiros, Carvalhal Benfeito, Casais da Serra, Casal Celão, Casal da Areia, Coto, Cruzes, Foz do Arelho, Lagoa Parceira, Moita, Morenas, Nadadouro, Rabaceira, Ramalhosa, Reguengo da Parada, Salir do Porto, Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina (E.B.I.), Santa Susana, São Clemente, São Cristovão, São Gregório, and Tornada.
Colégio Rainha D. Leonor, in Santo Onofre
, is a private school offering basic and secondary education.
Colégio Frei Cristóvão, in A-dos-Francos
, is a private school, offering years five through nine.
.
The Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste (ETEO) is a school of business
and technology
.
The Centro de Formação Profissional Para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL) offers training related to the ceramic
s industry.
The Centro Formação Profissional Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (CENFIM) offers courses in metallurgy
.
The Escola de Sargentos do Exército trains sergeant
s for the Portuguese Army
.
The Conservatório de Caldas da Rainha is a conservatory of music
.
The Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo do Oeste-Caldas da Rainha offers training in hospitality
and tourism
.
Caldas da Rainha is home to the Centro Hospitalar das Caldas da Rainha (Hospital Center of Caldas da Rainha), which consists of both medical and cultural institutions. Among these are the Hospital Distrital Caldas da Rainha (Caldas da Rainha District Hospital), which is a major regional hospital serving several municipalities in the area. The hospital serves all emergency
needs of all parts of Bombarral
, Caldas da Rainha, and Óbidos. It also serves certain emergency needs for certain parts of Alcobaça
, Nazaré
, Peniche, and Rio Maior
. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Thermal Hospital), a spa offering medically prescribed treatment in sulfurous waters, is also part of the Centro Hospitalar. Among the non-medical institutions of the Centro Hospitlar are the Museu do Hospital e das Caldas (Museum of the Hospital and Spa) and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, a church.
Caldas da Rainha is also served by a health center, Centro de Saúde Caldas da Rainha, which offers primary and non-urgent care. Additionally, there is a Unidade de Saúde Familiar (Family Health Unit) in Tornada and ten Extensões de Saúde (Health Extensions) in Alvorninha, Carreiros (A-dos-Francos), Carvalhal Benfeito, Foz do Arelho, Rostos (Landal), São Gregório, Santa Catarina, Vidais, A-dos-Francos, and Salir de Matos.
of Caldas da Rainha).
Police
protection in the urban areas of the municipality is provided by the Polícia de Segurança Pública
(PSP, Public Security Police).
Rural areas of the municipality are patrolled by the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR, Republican National Guard). The GNR's base is located within the city proper.
with the following places: Cambo-les-Bains
, France
Coria
and Badajoz
, Spain
Dinant
, Belgium
Huambo
, Angola
Le Raincy
, France
Lubango
, Angola
Perth Amboy
, New Jersey
, United States
Poços de Caldas
, Minas Gerais
, Brazil
Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde
's 2nd Division — Series C. The team plays at Campo da Mata, a 13,000-seat field located in a forest adjacent to Parque D. Carlos I. CSC also sponsors several youth (junior) football teams for various age groups.
The western edge of the city is home to the Complexo Desportivo Municipal (municipal sports complex). The main feature is a rugby
field surrounded by a running track. The field is home to Caldas Rugby Clube. The field can also be used for association football (soccer). The municipality recently added five tennis
courts (two of which are covered) in an adjacent facility. Plans are underway to build facilities for badminton
and beach soccer and rugby. The municipal pools are located nearby.
Caldas da Rainha has a bull ring (praça de touros), inaugurated in 1883, which is actively used during bullfighting
season.
The Portuguese Badminton
Federation (Federação Portuguesa de Badminton) is headquartered in Caldas da Rainha.
On October 4 and 5, 2008, Caldas da Rainha hosted the modern pentathlon
World Cup final, an event sanctioned by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality
Municipalities of Portugal
In Portugal, municipality or concelho is the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country.Portugal has an entirely separate system of cities and towns. Cities and towns are located in municipalities, but often do not have the same boundaries, even if built-up is continuous...
(município or concelho) of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste
Oeste
Oeste, is a NUTS 3 sub-region of the NUTS 2 Centro Region of Portugal. The sub-region is coterminous with the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste of the same name...
(West Intermunicipal Community). The city is best known for its hot springs and pottery.
The city was founded in the 15th century by Queen Leonor
Leonor of Viseu
Eleanor of Viseu was a Portuguese infanta and later queen consort of Portugal.To distinguish her from other infantas of the same name, she is commonly known as Eleanor of Viseu or Eleanor of Lancaster Eleanor of Viseu (2 May 1458–17 November 1525; ) was a Portuguese infanta (princess) and...
, who established a hospital at the site of some therapeutic hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the world, with five centuries of history. The city's name means "Queen's Hot Springs" or "Queen's Spa".
Caldas da Rainha is home to many arts-related institutions. There are numerous museums in the city, mostly related to ceramics and sculpture. The city is home to a major arts and design school, as well as a school of ceramics. In 2008, the municipal government inaugurated a new cultural center.
As of the 2011 census, the municipality has a population of 51,645, and the city (the civil parishes of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre) has 27,429 residents.
History
Leonor of Viseu
Eleanor of Viseu was a Portuguese infanta and later queen consort of Portugal.To distinguish her from other infantas of the same name, she is commonly known as Eleanor of Viseu or Eleanor of Lancaster Eleanor of Viseu (2 May 1458–17 November 1525; ) was a Portuguese infanta (princess) and...
, wife of King João II
John II of Portugal
John II , the Perfect Prince , was the thirteenth king of Portugal and the Algarves...
. One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she found a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. She stopped to inquire about this oddity and was told that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them for herself. She was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of some affliction she had been suffering (exactly what is not known). On that site, the queen ordered a thermal hospital built so that others may enjoy the relief that she felt. Construction began the following year, 1485. Although the first patients were admitted in 1488, construction was not completed until about 1496 or 1497. The name of the settlement that grew up around the site (Caldas da Rainha), refers to both its founder and the reason for its existence.
On March 21, 1511, King Manuel
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
conferred the status of town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
(Portuguese: vila) upon Caldas da Rainha. The town was elevated to the status of city (cidade) in September 1927.
In the early 20th century, it had a significant artistic and intellectual life. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which Portugal was a neutral country, hundreds of Jewish refugees came to Caldas da Rainha to escape Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. During the war, Caldas also served as home to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
airmen
Airman
An airman is a member of the air component of a nation's armed service. In the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force , it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank...
who landed or crashed in Portugal or off its coast.
In a prelude to the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, on the night of March 15–16, 1974, the Fifth Infantry Regiment, based in Caldas da Rainha in what is now the Escola de Sargentos do Exército, attempted to stage a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against the country's authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
Estado Novo.
Caldas da Rainha's coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
was granted by Queen Leonor, before municipal coats of arms were typically used in Portugal. Because of its early introduction, several elements of the arms violate Portuguese heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
standards. For example, Portuguese coat of arms typically feature a mural crown, made up of brick towers. Caldas da Rainha's arms feature a gold crown. The arms lack the typical banner bearing the municipality's name. The shield is much longer than the normal 8:7 ratio. The two smaller shields surrounding the main shield are also not in keeping with Portuguese heraldic rules.
Location
Caldas da Rainha is located at 39° 24' N latitudeLatitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and 9° 08' W longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
. The municipality comprises an area of 255.7 square kilometres (98.7 sq mi) (2004 statistics). The city is located approximately 82 kilometres (51 mi) north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Although the municipality borders the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, the city proper is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the ocean.
Caldas da Rainha is located in the NUTS
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes...
III subregion named Oeste, which forms part of the NUTS II region known as Centro, which is part of the NUTS I subdivision called Portugal Continental
Continental Portugal
Continental Portugal or Mainland Portugal is the designation of the mainland Portuguese territory, located on Europe's Iberian Peninsula....
(Continental/Mainland Portugal).
Caldas da Rainha is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste
Oeste
Oeste, is a NUTS 3 sub-region of the NUTS 2 Centro Region of Portugal. The sub-region is coterminous with the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste of the same name...
(West Intermunicipal Community). The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste is legislatively coterminous with the Oeste NUTS III subregion. Before becoming an Intermunicipal Community, Oetse was a Comunidade Urbana (urban community), a designation abolished in August 2008.
Caldas da Rainha is in Estremadura
Estremadura Province (historical)
Estremadura Province is one of the six historical provinces of Portugal....
, a historical province with no current legal status. The municipality is in the district of Leiria
Leiria (district)
The District of Leiria is located in Central Portugal. The District Capital is the city of Leiria which is also the largest city and most populous city.The district is composed by 16 municipalities:[C = city/cidade T = town/vila]...
. Districts are being phased out, but still serve as a primary administrative division.
The municipality is bordered to the north by Alcobaça
Alcobaça Municipality
Alcobaça Municipality contains the city of Alcobaça. It is located in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province...
, to the east by Rio Maior
Rio Maior
Rio Maior is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 272.8 km² and a total population of 21,621 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes, and is located in the Santarém District.The present Mayor is Isaura Morais, elected by the PSD....
and to the south by Bombarral
Bombarral
Bombarral is a Portuguese municipality in the Oeste Subregion and Leiria District, of central Portugal. With an area of and approximately 13,325 inhabitants , it includes five civil parishes that provide local services...
, Cadaval
Cadaval
Cadaval is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 174.9 km² and a total population of 14,385 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in Lisbon District....
and Óbidos.
The postal code
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...
for Caldas da Rainha is 2500. Its telephone area code
Telephone numbers in Portugal
Country Code: +351International Call Prefix: 00Trunk Prefix: nonePortugal changed to a closed telephone numbering plan in 1999. Previously, the trunk prefix was '0', but this was dropped...
is 262.
Civil Parishes (Freguesias)
The municipality of Caldas da Rainha comprises sixteen civil parishCivil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
es (Portuguese: freguesia
Freguesia
Freguesia is the Portuguese term for a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and some of its former colonies, and a former secondary local administrative unit in Macau, roughly equivalent to an administrative parish. A freguesia is a subdivision of a concelho, the Portuguese synonym term...
s). They are:
| Freguesia | Population Population A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals... (2011 census Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common... ) |
Total Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| A dos Francos—town (vila) | 1,683 | 19.78 | 7.6 |
| Alvorninha Alvorninha Alvorninha is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 37.7 km² and 3,123 residents .... —town |
2,977 | 37.62 | 14.5 |
| Carvalhal Benfeito Carvalhal Benfeito Carvalhal Benfeito is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 14 km² and 1,339 residents.-References:... |
1,276 | 14.08 | 5.4 |
| Coto Coto Coto is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 5.6 km² and 1,135 residents.-References:... |
1,343 | 5.5 | 2.1 |
| Foz do Arelho Foz do Arelho Foz do Arelho is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal... —town |
1,320 | 9.95 | 3.8 |
| Landal Landal For the holiday village company, see Landal Greenparks.Landal is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 10.1 km² and 1,144 residents.-References:... |
1,051 | 9.94 | 3.8 |
| Nadadouro Nadadouro Nadadouro is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.7 km² and 1,422 residents... |
1,889 | 9.22 | 3.6 |
| Nossa Senhora do Pópulo Nossa Senhora do Pópulo Nossa Senhora do Pópulo is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 12.3 km² and 14,453 residents.... (eastern half of the city proper) |
16,201 | 12.3 | 4.7 |
| Salir de Matos Salir de Matos Salir de Matos is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 24.3 km² and 2,428 residents.-References:... |
2,576 | 24.29 | 9.4 |
| Salir do Porto Salir do Porto Salir do Porto is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.9 km² and 770 residents.... |
795 | 9.91 | 3.8 |
| Santa Catarina Santa Catarina (Caldas da Rainha) Santa Catarina is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 20 km² and 5,000 residents.-References:... —town |
3,026 | 19.94 | 7.7 |
| Santo Onofre Santo Onofre Santo Onofre is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.2 km² and 10,775 residents.... (western half of the city proper) |
11,228 | 9.11 | 3.5 |
| São Gregório São Gregório São Gregório is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 14.1 km² and 907 residents.-References:... |
888 | 14.42 | 5.6 |
| Serra do Bouro Serra do Bouro Serra do Bouro is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 18.2 km² and 720 residents... |
704 | 17.98 | 6.9 |
| Tornada Tornada Tornada is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 19.6 km² and 3,150 residents.-References:... |
3,527 | 19.82 | 7.7 |
| Vidais Vidais Vidais is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the Caldas da Rainha Municipality, Portugal. The parish has an area of 22.2 km² and 1,178 residents.-References:... |
1,161 | 22.21 | 8.6 |
Demographics
A resident of Caldas da Rainha is a Caldense (plural: Caldenses).Between the 2001 and 2011 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
es, the population of the municipality of Caldas da Rainha increased 5.7% from 48,846 residents to 51,645. The city of Caldas da Rainha (comprising the civil parishes of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre) saw an increase of 8.7% from 25,228 residents to 27,429.
Câmara Municipal
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
body of the municipal government is the Câmara Municipal
Câmara Municipal
- Portugal :Its members are elected by the Hondt method, serve year-round and are paid. The president of a Municipal Chamber is the head of the most-voted list...
(municipal chamber). Dr. Fernando José da Costa (PSD
Social Democratic Party (Portugal)
The Social Democratic Party , is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Portugal. It is commonly known by its initials, PSD; on ballot papers, its initials appear as PPD/PSD, with the first three letters coming from the party's original name, Democratic People's Party...
) is the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the câmara, effectively the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Caldas da Rainha. The other members are Maria da Coneição Feliciano Antunes Bretts Jardim Pereira (PSD), Fernando Manuel Tinta Ferreira (PSD), Dr. Hugo Patrício Martinho de Oliveira (PSD), Eng. Delfim Marques de Azevedo (PS
Socialist Party (Portugal)
The Socialist Party , abbreviated to PS, is a social-democratic political party in Portugal. It was founded on 19 April 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action ....
), Dr. Rui José Antunes da Cunha Simões Correia (PS), Manuel Fialho Isaque
(CDS/PP).
Assembleia Municipal
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
body of municipal government is the 37-member Assembleia Municipal
Assembleia Municipal
An Assembleia Municipal governs a municipality in Portugal. Part of the assembly's members are elected every four years among candidate lists by the Hondt method, simulteanously with the election of the Câmara Municipal; the remainder member are the presidents of parish boards that compose the...
(municipal assembly). Luís Manuel Pereira Monteiro Ribeiro is president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the assembly. José Fernando d’Almeida Silva Pereira serves as the first secretary. Virgílio Leal dos Santos, who is president of the civil parish executive body (junta de freguesia) of Alvorninha, serves as the second secretary.
The presidents of the each of the sixteen juntas de freguesia
Freguesia
Freguesia is the Portuguese term for a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and some of its former colonies, and a former secondary local administrative unit in Macau, roughly equivalent to an administrative parish. A freguesia is a subdivision of a concelho, the Portuguese synonym term...
serve on the assembly:
- Justino Sobreiro (A dos Francos)
- Virgílio Leal Santos (Alvorninha)
- Vasco Da Cruz Antunes de Oliveira (Nossa Senhora do Pópulo)
- Abílio Maria Camacho (Santo Onofre)
- Maria João dos Santos Ribeiro Querido (Carvalhal Benfeito)
- Carlos Alberto Garcia Cravide Bernardo (Coto)
- Fernando Alberto Reis Horta (Foz do Arelho)
- António José Carvalho de Almeida (Landal)
- César Conceição Dimas Pereira (Nadadouro)
- João Fialho Coutinho Rosa (Salir de Matos)
- Abílio Jacinto Luís (Salir Do Porto)
- Rui Miguel Norte Rocha (Santa Catarina)
- Filipe Ernesto de Sousa (São Gregório)
- Álvaro Baltazar da Silva Jerónimo (Serra do Bouro)
- Henrique José Teresa (Tornada)
- Virgílio Caetano Filipe (Vidais)
The other members of the assembly are:
- José Luís de Carvalho Lalanda Ribeiro
- Jorge Manuel dos Santos Sobral
- Luís Manuel Pereira Monteiro Ribeiro
- Maria Fernanda Fernandes Machado
- Luisa Arroz Correia Albuquerque
- Luís Miguel da Rosa Goulão Freire
- Duarte Nuno Batista Ferreira
- José Fernando d'Almeida Silva Pereira
- Mário António Duarte Pacheco
- Filomena Maria Marques Seabra Rodrigues
- Paulo Ribeiro
- António José Lopes Ferreira
- Fernando António da Costa Rocha
- Alberto Manuel de Oliveira Reis Pereira
- Carlos Alberto Elias de Jesus
- Maria Susana Morais da Costa
- Catarina Leite de Castro Catalino Paramos
- Daniel Miguel Rebelo
- Vitor Manuel Marques Fernandes
- Pedro Miguel de Oliveira Marques
- Carlos Manuel Branco Tomás
Statistics
There are 31 banking institutions, with deposits totaling €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
518,021,400.
As of 2001, 49% of the population is employed, while 6.5% are unemployed. (The remainder are too young, are retired or do not otherwise participate in the workforce.)
Commerce
Caldas da Rainha has a vibrant downtownDowntown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
shopping area, with a variety of shops specializing in clothing, jewelry, beauty supplies, home decoration, housewares, and other goods. Among the main shopping areas are Rua do Heróis da Grande Guerra, Rua das Montras (officially, Rua Almirante Cândido dos Reis), Rua da Liberdade, and surrounding streets.
Several international chains have locations in Caldas da Rainha, including
AKI,
Mango
Mango (clothing)
Mango, stylized MANGO, is a clothing design and manufacturing company. Isak Andic is the president.Its goal is "to be present in every city" in the world...
,
McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, and
Staples.
There are numerous supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s and hypermarket
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
s in Caldas da Rainha, including
Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
,
Casaleiro,
E.Leclerc
E.Leclerc
E.Leclerc is a French hypermarket chain, headquartered in Ivry-sur-Seine. The chain enables semi-independent stores to operate under the Leclerc brand.E.Leclerc was established on 1st January 1948....
,
Intermarché,
Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
,
Minipreço
Dia (supermarket chain)
Día is the trading name of Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación, S.A., a Spanish international hard-discount supermarket chain which since 2000 is part of the Carrefour Group but since 13 May 2011 has begun a legal process of separation as a listed company on the Madrid stockmarket...
(2),
Modelo,
Pão de Açúcar
Auchan
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
,
Pingo Doce
Pingo Doce
Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket operator in Portugal with over 350 stores. It belongs to the Groupo Jerónimo Martins, which is owned by the name giving person Jerónimo Martins. In the 1990s he acquired Brazilian supermarket chain Sé Supermercados, which became the Brazilian equivalent to...
(three locations), and
Ponto Fresco.
Several small indoor shopping centers, most with only a handful of stores, exist throughout the city.
The Associação Comercial dos Concelhos das Caldas da Rainha e Óbidos (ACCCRO, founded in 1902 as the Associação Comercial e Industrial de Caldas da Rainha) aims to promote traditional commerce in Caldas da Rainha and neighboring Óbidos. The association aims to publicize smaller businesses located in the municipalitys' centers, which feel threatened by the increasing popularity of larger businesses, such as malls and hypermarkets usually found on the outskirts.
Vivaci Caldas da Rainha
Vivaci Caldas da Rainha, an indoor shopping centerShopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
operated by FDO Imobiliária, was inaugurated on November 25, 2008, and opened to the public the following day. The center is located adjacent to the site of the Hotel Lisbonense, which is being rebuilt. Vivaci's four floors contain sixty stores
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, including fourteen restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, a five-screen movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
(Cinemas Vivacine in partnership with Zon Lusomundo), a supermarket (Pão de Açúcar
Auchan
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
), and ATMs
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
(Millenium bcp
Banco Comercial Português
Banco Comercial Português , is a Portuguese bank that was founded in 1985 and is the largest private bank in the country. BCP is a member of the Euronext 100 stock index and its current chief executive officer is Carlos Santos Ferreira. BCP is based in Porto, but its operations are headquartered...
).
CaldasShopping
CaldasShopping, originally scheduled for conclusion in 2006, was opened in late December 2008. The complex, located at the intersection of Rua Dr. Miguel Bombarda and Rua Raul Proença, is operated by Erguigest. In addition to space for about forty shops and indoor and outdoor esplanades seating 200 to 250, the CaldasShopping edifice contains offices and thirteen apartments.Centro Bordalo
Centro Bordalo, a shopping center to be developed by Sonae SierraSonae
Sonae is a conglomerate, and is the largest private employer in Portugal. The company is primarily engaged in the operation of retail stores through its subsidiary Modelo Continente....
, was scheduled to open in 2010 with ninety-five stores and 1,100 parking spaces. Sonae Sierra planned to invest 56 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s in the 24000 square metres (28,703.8 sq yd) center. The late-2000s financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
caused Sonae Sierra to postpone the project. The center will be located across from the existing Continente Modelo hypermarket and will be connected to it by a pedestrian bridge over the street.
Centro Cultural e de Congressos
On May 15, 2008, the municipal holiday, PresidentPresident of Portugal
Portugal has been a republic since 1910, and since that time the head of state has been the president, whose official title is President of the Portuguese Republic ....
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC , is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006....
and Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Fernando José da Costa inaugurated the Centro Cultural e de Congressos (CCC), a cultural and conference center. The center hosts music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, and cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, as well as various exposition
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
s and conferences
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
.
The center's grand auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
contains 660 seats and a 600 square metres (717.6 sq yd) stage. The smaller auditorium can seat up to 150. A multi-use space of 240 square metres (287 sq yd) can be subdivided into four rooms. A concert café seats 60. The rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
space is as large as the main stage.
Expoeste
Expoeste - Centro de Exposições do Oeste, is an indoor event space. The center hosts various events, including bridal expos, seasonal festivals, fruit expos, and car shows. One of the most popular events is the annual Expotur - Festa de Verão, popularly called "tasquinhas". At this event, which takes place over the span of about week and a half at the beginning of August, food from each of the freguesias is available for purchase and on-site consumption.Ceramics
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
(louça das Caldas). At the end of the 19th century, the ceramic industry set up place here, making the city Portugal's ceramic and pottery capital. Ancient references to pottery manufacturing can be found in the area, with soils rich in clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. A nearby village's name, Bombarral
Bombarral
Bombarral is a Portuguese municipality in the Oeste Subregion and Leiria District, of central Portugal. With an area of and approximately 13,325 inhabitants , it includes five civil parishes that provide local services...
, can be translated as "good-clay pit
Clay pit
A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement.The brickyard or brickworks is often located alongside the clay pit to reduce the transport costs of the raw material. These days pottery producers are often not...
", revealing that the pottery tradition has been settled here since ancient times. The typical Caldas pottery has evolved since its great boom in early 20th century, but the main types are still the same.
Caldas da Rainha's pottery falls into two main categories: utilitarian housewares, such as plates, bowls, platters, mugs, and tureen
Tureen
A tureen is a serving dish for foods such as soups or stews, often shaped as a broad, deep, oval vessel with fixed handles and a low domed cover with a knob or handle. Over the centuries, tureens have appeared in many different forms, some round, rectangular, or made into fanciful shapes such as...
s; and purely decorative items, such as caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
s and ceramic phallus
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
es of various sizes. Even useful articles usually serve a decorative purpose as well. One popular model, created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture and ceramics designs, and is considered the first Portuguese comics creator.- Life :...
, is a cabbage-shaped soup tureen, which can be displayed on a shelf or as a centerpiece when not in use.
One of the most popular decorative figures is Zé Povinho
Zé Povinho
Zé Povinho is a Portuguese everyman created in 1875 by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. He became first a symbol of the Portuguese working-class people, and eventually into the unofficial personification of Portugal....
, a bearded peasant everyman
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
character created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture and ceramics designs, and is considered the first Portuguese comics creator.- Life :...
. A symbol of Portugal and the Portuguese people, Zé Povinho appears in many jocular, defiant poses.
The ceramics are available for purchase at stands in the daily market at Praça da República (Praça da Fruta) and shops in the vicinity. They are also available in stores outside Portugal, including a number of up-market housewares stores.
Gastronomy
Cavacas das Caldas are a small-bowl-sized, shell-shaped confection of flour and eggs, with a crunchy sugar covering. In June 2005, a 26 meter pyramid of cavacas was erected on Praça 25 de Abril in front of the city hall. Beijinhos das Caldas (English: "kisses") are similar, but are smaller and round.Tourism and sites of interest
Beaches and water
Foz do ArelhoFoz do Arelho
Foz do Arelho is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal...
has a beach on Atlantic Ocean, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the center of town. The Lagoa de Óbidos
Lagoa de Óbidos
The Lagoa de Óbidos is a lagoon located in the municipalities Óbidos and Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Foz do Arelho.-External links:* at Portal Caldas da Rainha...
, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean, is a lagoon located on the border with Óbidos near Foz do Arelho. Salir do Porto
Salir do Porto
Salir do Porto is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.9 km² and 770 residents....
has a beach on the Atlantic Ocean.
Churches
The Igreja Nossa Senhora do Pópulo is a gothicInternational Gothic
International Gothic is a phase of Gothic art which developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, France and northern Italy in the late 14th century and early 15th century...
church near the thermal hospital. It was built around the year 1500 by order of Queen Leonor. The church has two associated chapels: Capela de São Sebastião and Capela do Espírito Santo. The Ermida da São Sebastião is a 16th century chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, adjacent to Praça da República. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a 20th century church located on Praça 25 de Abril.
Museums
Several museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s are located in Caldas da Rainha. The Centro de Artes (arts center) hosts three museums of sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
: the Museu-Atelier António Duarte, the Museu-Atelier João Fragoso, and the Museu Barata Feyo. The Museu de Cerâmica exhibits ceramic works of art, as does the Casa-Museu de São Rafael. The Museu do Hospital e das Caldas features exhibits related to the thermal hospital and the city. The Museu José Malhoa
José Malhoa Museum
The Museu de José Malhoa , in Caldas da Rainha, is a regional Portuguese museum, that hosts the finest collection of the Portuguese naturalist painter José Malhoa. The museum building, the first purpose-built museum in Portugal, was constructed in 1940 and enlarged in 1950 and 1957. The museum is...
is an art museum located in Parque D. Carlos I.
Parks and plazas
Parque D. Carlos ICarlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...
is a large park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the center of town. The José Malhoa Museum
José Malhoa Museum
The Museu de José Malhoa , in Caldas da Rainha, is a regional Portuguese museum, that hosts the finest collection of the Portuguese naturalist painter José Malhoa. The museum building, the first purpose-built museum in Portugal, was constructed in 1940 and enlarged in 1950 and 1957. The museum is...
sits in the middle of the park. The park contains a doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
-shaped pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
with a small island in the center. Visitors can rent rowboats on the pond.
Praça da República (Republic Plaza) is a public square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
in the center of town. The plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
, also known as Praça da Fruta (Fruit Plaza), hosts Portugal's only daily farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
. The plaza is surrounded by buildings, most containing shops, banks, and café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s on the ground floor.
Praça 5 de Outubro (October 5 Plaza) formerly hosted the city's open-air fish market, which has since moved to an indoor location (Mercado do Peixe). The plaza is now used for outdoor café seating and free cultural events. A parking garage sits underground below the plaza.
A statue of Queen Queen Leonor stands in the middle of the roundabout at Largo Conde de Fontalva, typically called Largo da Rainha. The iconic monument serves as a landmark and marks the entrance to the historic city center when approaching from the south on N8/N115/N360 or from the west on the N360.
Rail
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
served by the Linha do Oeste
Linha do Oeste
Linha do Oeste is a railway line serving the central western coast of Portugal belonging to REFER network. The line was opened in 1887.Passenger services are operated by CP....
(western line) of Comboios de Portugal
Comboios de Portugal
thumb|250px|right|CP suburban trains at São Bento Station in Oporto.CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE is a state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains in Portugal...
. Regional trains, which make frequent local stops, run south to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and north to Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz , also known as Figueira for short, is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by hills ....
. Most regional trips reach only the suburbs of Lisbon, where passengers can transfer to a commuter train to reach the capital. Interregional trains, which make select stops, run south to Lisbon and north to Figueira da Foz (a few times daily) or Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
(once daily). All trains serving Caldas da Rainha begin or end their trips there; no through service stops at Caldas da Rainha. Other train stops in the municipality are Campo-Serra, Bouro, and Salir do Porto
Salir do Porto
Salir do Porto is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.9 km² and 770 residents....
.
As part of the deal to help Portugal overcome its debt burden, the government announced that it will discontinue passenger service on the Linha do Oeste north of Caldas da Rainha by the end of 2011.
Long distance and suburban buses
Caldas da Rainha has a bus stationBus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
(terminal rodoviário) located in the city center.
Rede Nacional de Expressos
Rede Nacional de Expressos
Rede Nacional de Expressos is a national express coach network in Portugal. The network, based in Lisbon, was founded in 1995...
provides express bus service to various destinations in the country.
Rodoviária do Tejo
Rodoviária do Tejo
Rodoviária do Tejo, S.A. is a regional bus company in Portugal.-History:The company was founded in 1860 as João Clara & Companhia Limitada and later became Claras Transportes S.A.R.L. In 1975, the company was nationalized as part of Rodoviária Nacional and became the 'Passenger Managing Centre' ...
provides rapid ("express" by another name) and interurban services to destinations in its service area (cities and towns surrounding Caldas da Rainha, Leiria
Leiria
Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
, Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
, and Torres Novas
Torres Novas
Torres Novas is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 270.0 km² and a total population of 37,155 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 17 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém. The city of Torres Novas has about 15,000 inhabitants. This city has a castle...
), as well as to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
Rocaldas-Empresa de transportes Auto-Penafiel, Lda. services outlying, suburban, and rural areas near the city. Their buses do not use the bus station.
TOMA
On May 15, 2007, the municipal holiday, the municipal council inaugurated local bus service called TOMA. The name means "take this" in PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and commemorates everyman figure Zé Povinho
Zé Povinho
Zé Povinho is a Portuguese everyman created in 1875 by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. He became first a symbol of the Portuguese working-class people, and eventually into the unofficial personification of Portugal....
, whose image appears on the buses.
TOMA service consists of three routes: Linha Azul (Blue Line), Linha Laranja (Orange Line), and Linha Verde (Green Line). The Blue line uses two minibuses and runs between the western and eastern ends of town. The Orange and Green lines each operate using a single twenty-nine-seat minibus on loop routes.
TOMA service runs from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:00 a.m to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, with no service on Sundays. All routes operate at thirty-minute intervals.
Since August 16, 2011, a trip on TOMA costs €1.10 without a pass (called TTT – Título de Transporte do TOMA) and €0.55 with a pass. Passengers receive volume discounts for purchasing multiple trips simultaneously. They can also purchase passes for unlimited rides for given number of days. On January 9, 2008, the city council announced that persons in wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
s would ride free of charge.
Linha Azul (Blue Line)
In May 2008, the municipality announced TOMA's third route, Linha Azul (Blue Line), which serves the northern areas of the city not included in the two first-phase routes. The new route operates using two buses, rather than the single bus used by each of the other two routes. Introduction of the new line was delayed, because the company that won the bid to operate the line decided not to undertake the project after all. The municipality inaugurated the new route on September 19, 2009, Public Transport Day.
On westbound trips, the Blue line stops at:
- Mercado (weekly market/fairground)
- Belver (neighborhood)
- Hospital
- Cinco Bicas/CCC (fountain/Centro Cultural e de Congressos, cultural and conference center)
- Chafariz (fountain)
- Montepio (health organization)
- Câmara (city hall)
- PSP (police station)
- Quinta Canários (neighborhood)
- Hortas (factory)
- Cutileira (neighborhood)
- Centro de Saúde (health center)
- Cidade Nova (neighborhood)
- Expoeste (special events center)
- Raúl Proença (secondary school)
- D. João II (street)
- Piscinas (municipal pools)
- Rugby/Colégio (sports center/private school)
On eastbound trips, the Blue line stops at:
- Rugby/Colégio (sports center/private school)
- Piscinas (municipal pools)
- Arneiros (neighborhood)
- Raúl Proença (secondary school)
- Expoeste (special events center)
- Cidade Nova (neighborhood)
- Centro de Saúde (health center)
- Cutileira (neighborhood)
- Hortas (factory)
- Quinta Canários (neighborhood)
- EB2,3 D. João II (middle school)
- Montepio (health organization)
- Heróis da Grande Guerra (pedestrianized downtown shopping street)
- Rainha (roundabout with statue of Queen Leonor)
- Praça da Fruta (main square, daily farmers market, official name: Praça da República)
- Hospital
- Univ. Católica (university)
- Colina do Sol (neighborhood)
- Santa Rita (neighborhood)
- Gago Coutinho (crossroads in neighborhood)
- Mercado (weekly market/fairground)
Linha Laranja (Orange Line)
The Linha Laranja (Orange Line) was inaugurated on May 15, 2007, as part of the first phase of TOMA service. This loop route stops at:
- Terminal Rodoviário (bus station)
- Cinco Bicas/CCC (fountain/Centro Cultural e de Congressos, cultural and conference center)
- Hospital
- Univ. Católica (university)
- Encosta do Sol (neighborhood)
- Chafariz (fountain; formerly at nearby Bordalo Pinheiro secondary school)
- Montepio (health organization)
- Heróis da Grande Guerra (pedestrianized downtown shopping street)
- Rainha (roundabout with statue of Queen Leonor)
- Biblioteca (library)
- Cencal (ceramics school)
- Rugby/Colégio (sports center/private school)
- Piscinas (municipal pools)
- Arneiros (neighborhood)
- Fonte Luminosa (fountain)
- Centro de Saúde (health center)
- Estação CP (railway station)
- Câmara (city hall)
Linha Verde (Green Line)
The Linha Verde (Green Line) was inaugurated on May 15, 2007, as part of the first phase of TOMA service. This loop route stops at:
- Rainha (roundabout with statue of Queen Leonor)
- Parque (park)
- Centro D'Artes (arts center)
- Avenal Escola (school)
- Avenal (neighborhood)
- ESAD (Escola Superior de Artes e Design, art and design college)
- Quinta da Oliveira (apartment complex)
- EBI (Escola Basica Integrada de Santo Onofre, primary and middle school)
- Bairro das Morenas (neighborhood)
- ETEO (Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste, professional school)
- Ponte (bridge)
- Bairro da Ponte (neighborhood)
- Fonte Luminosa (fountain)
- Centro de Saúde (health center)
- Estação CP (railway station)
- Câmara (city hall)
- Terminal Rodoviário (bus station)
- Cinco Bicas/CCC (fountain/Centro Cultural e de Congressos, cultural and conference center)
- Hospital
- Chafariz (fountain)
- Montepio (health organization)
- Heróis da Grande Guerra (pedestrianized downtown shopping street)
Projecto Tornada
TornadaTornada
Tornada is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 19.6 km² and 3,150 residents.-References:...
is a significant population and employment center in the municipality, just north of the city on the N8 (aka EN8) roadway. Many residents complain of poor public transportation options. In reality, many buses operated by Rodoviário do Tejo or Rocaldas (aka Empresa de Transportes Auto Penafiel) pass through and stop in Tornada, though all are designed for further destinations. The municipal government in cooperation with the two bus operators, has undertaken "Projecto Tornada" to produce and disseminate a combined schedule of services, to coordinate and improve bus stops on N8, and to improve pedestrian access along N8. Conclusion of the project is set for the beginning of 2010.
Roads
Caldas da Rainha is served by an extensive network of roadsRoads in Portugal
Roads in Portugal are integrated in the Plano Rodoviário Nacional de 2000 , which describes the existing and planned network of portuguese roads....
. Two motorways (auto-estradas), both operated by Auto-Estradas do Atlântico
Auto-Estradas do Atlântico
Auto-Estradas do Atlântico, Concessões Rodoviárias de Portugal, S.A., is a highway management concessionaire in Portugal.-Network:Auto-Estradas do Atlântico operates two highways:* A8 Auto-estrada do Oeste, from Lisbon to Leiria via Caldas da Rainha...
, serve the municipality. The A8
A8 Auto-estrada do Oeste
The A8, called in , is a motorway in Portugal, connecting Lisbon and Leiria via Caldas da Rainha. The A17 connects to it in Marinha Grande and runs into Aveiro. A8 is operated by Auto-Estradas do Atlântico. It has a total length of 132 km.-Lisboa - Leiria:...
(also known as Auto-estrada do Oeste and as IC1) goes south to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Loures
Loures
Loures Municipality is a municipality to the north of Lisbon. Created on 26 July 1886 by a royal decree, the municipality currently occupies an area of 169 km² and has about 200,000 inhabitants . It borders the municipalities of Odivelas, Sintra, Mafra, Arruda dos Vinhos, Vila Franca de Xira...
, Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras
Torres Vedras is a city and a municipality in the district of Lisbon, Portugal, about 50 km north of Lisbon. It belongs to the Oeste subregion and the Centro region.The municipality covers an area of 405.89 km² distributed over 20 freguesias...
, and Bombarral
Bombarral
Bombarral is a Portuguese municipality in the Oeste Subregion and Leiria District, of central Portugal. With an area of and approximately 13,325 inhabitants , it includes five civil parishes that provide local services...
and north to Leiria
Leiria
Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
, Marinha Grande, Alcobaça
Alcobaça
Alcobaça is a city in Alcobaça Municipality in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers Alcoa and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality has a total population of 55,269...
, and Nazaré. The A15 goes west to Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
via Rio Maior
Rio Maior
Rio Maior is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 272.8 km² and a total population of 21,621 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes, and is located in the Santarém District.The present Mayor is Isaura Morais, elected by the PSD....
. IP 6 is a main route (itinerário principal) connecting to Peniche, Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
, Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco, Portugal
The city of Castelo Branco is made up of one parish with a population of 30,649.It is located in Castelo Branco Municipality in Castelo Branco District.-History and landmarks:...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Several national roads (estradas nacionais), which are older and not as well-maintained as motorways and main routes, serve the municipality. EN 8 (N8) crosses the municipality from north to south, connecting to Alcobaça and Leiria to the north and Óbidos, Bombarral, Torres Vedras, and Loures to the south. EN 8 runs through the center of the city, although the part of its route along Rua dos Heróis da Grande Guerra is now a pedestrian zone. EN 8 was the municipality's main roadway before the A8 motorway was built.
EN 114 (N114), in the center and southeast of the municipality, goes to Peniche, Rio Maior and Santarém. EN 114-1 (N114-1), in the center and east of the municipality, connects to EN 114. EN 115 (N115), along the south and southwest border of the municipality, runs to Cadaval
Cadaval
Cadaval is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 174.9 km² and a total population of 14,385 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in Lisbon District....
. EN 360 (N360) crosses the municipality southwest to northeast, connecting to Alcobaça. EN 361 (N361), in the southwest of the municipality, connects to Cadaval and Rio Maior.
Higher education
There are two institutions of higher educationHigher education in Portugal
Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems: university and polytechnic education. It is provided in autonomous public universities, private universities, public or private university institutes, polytechnic institutions and higher education institutions of other types...
in Caldas da Rainha.
Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Caldas da Rainha (ESAD.CR), founded in 1990, is a school of the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria
Instituto Politécnico de Leiria
The Polytechnic Institute of Leiria is a public institution of Higher Education that offers courses of training on an Undegraduate Degree, Masters, Post-Graduate, Technology Specialization and Preparation Courses for Access to Higher Education level...
(IPL). ESAD offers courses in plastic arts, industrial design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
, ceramic design
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
design, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
& image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
.
Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (ESB) da Universidade Católica Portuguesa offers courses in biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
. The Caldas da Rainha campus, founded in 1999, is an extension of ESB's Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
base.
Primary and secondary education
There are two secondary schools (escolas secundárias, years ten through twelve) in Caldas da Rainha. Escola Secundária Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro is located in Nossa Senhora do PópuloNossa Senhora do Pópulo
Nossa Senhora do Pópulo is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 12.3 km² and 14,453 residents....
freguesia and Escola Secundária Raúl Proença is located in the neighborhood of Bairro do Arneiros in Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.2 km² and 10,775 residents....
freguesia.
Caldas da Rainha has three basic schools
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
(escolas básicas) for the second and third cycles (segundo (2°) ciclo, years five and six; and terceiro (3°) ciclo, years seven through nine). E.B. 2,3 D. João II is located in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo
Nossa Senhora do Pópulo
Nossa Senhora do Pópulo is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 12.3 km² and 14,453 residents....
freguesia and offers the second and third cycles only. EBI 1,2,3 Santo Onofre is located in the neighborhood of Bairro das Morenas in Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.2 km² and 10,775 residents....
freguesia and offers the first, second, and third cycles. EBI de Santa Catarina, located in Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (Caldas da Rainha)
Santa Catarina is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 20 km² and 5,000 residents.-References:...
freguesia, offers kindergarten, first, second, and third cycle classes.
Caldas da Rainha has 48 schools for the first cycle (primeiro (1°) ciclo, years one though four) located throughout the municipality. The schools, together with the kindergartens, are divided into five geographic groups for administrative purposes. They are located at A-dos-Francos, Alvorninha, Antas, Avenal, Bairradas, Bairro da Ponte, Bairro dos Arneiros, Cabreiros, Campo, Carreiros, Carvalhal Benfeito, Casais da Serra, Casal da Areia, Casal da Marinha, Casal das Freiras, Chão da Parada, Coto, Cumeira, Encosta do Sol, Espinheira, Fanadia, Foz do Arelho, Guisado, Lagoa Parceira, Mata, Mestras, Moita, Nadadouro, Parque, Peso, Rabaceira, Ramalhosa, Reguengo da Parada, Relvas, Ribeira dos Amiais, Rostos, Salir de Matos, Salir do Porto, Santa Catarina (E.B.I. 0,1,2,3), Santa Susana, Santo Onofre (E.B.I. 1,2,3), São Clemente, São Gregório, Tornada, Trabalhias, Vidais, Vila Verde, and Zambujal.
Caldas da Rainha has 27 kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s (jardims de infância). They are located at A-dos-Francos, Antas, Avenal, Bairro dos Arneiros, Carreiros, Carvalhal Benfeito, Casais da Serra, Casal Celão, Casal da Areia, Coto, Cruzes, Foz do Arelho, Lagoa Parceira, Moita, Morenas, Nadadouro, Rabaceira, Ramalhosa, Reguengo da Parada, Salir do Porto, Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina (E.B.I.), Santa Susana, São Clemente, São Cristovão, São Gregório, and Tornada.
Colégio Rainha D. Leonor, in Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre
Santo Onofre is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 9.2 km² and 10,775 residents....
, is a private school offering basic and secondary education.
Colégio Frei Cristóvão, in A-dos-Francos
A-dos-Francos
A dos Francos is one of the sixteen civil parishes that make up the municipality of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The parish has an area of 19.8 km² and 1,797 residents.-References:...
, is a private school, offering years five through nine.
Vocational education
Caldas da Rainha has several institutions offering vocational educationVocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
.
The Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste (ETEO) is a school of business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
.
The Centro de Formação Profissional Para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL) offers training related to the ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s industry.
The Centro Formação Profissional Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (CENFIM) offers courses in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
.
The Escola de Sargentos do Exército trains sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
s for the Portuguese Army
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in co-operation with other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the defence of Portugal...
.
The Conservatório de Caldas da Rainha is a conservatory of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
The Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo do Oeste-Caldas da Rainha offers training in hospitality
Hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travelers...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Health care
Emergency
An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative...
needs of all parts of Bombarral
Bombarral
Bombarral is a Portuguese municipality in the Oeste Subregion and Leiria District, of central Portugal. With an area of and approximately 13,325 inhabitants , it includes five civil parishes that provide local services...
, Caldas da Rainha, and Óbidos. It also serves certain emergency needs for certain parts of Alcobaça
Alcobaça
Alcobaça is a city in Alcobaça Municipality in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers Alcoa and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality has a total population of 55,269...
, Nazaré
Nazaré
-In Brazil:*Nazaré, Bahia*Nazaré, Tocantins*Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo...
, Peniche, and Rio Maior
Rio Maior
Rio Maior is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 272.8 km² and a total population of 21,621 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes, and is located in the Santarém District.The present Mayor is Isaura Morais, elected by the PSD....
. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Thermal Hospital), a spa offering medically prescribed treatment in sulfurous waters, is also part of the Centro Hospitalar. Among the non-medical institutions of the Centro Hospitlar are the Museu do Hospital e das Caldas (Museum of the Hospital and Spa) and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, a church.
Caldas da Rainha is also served by a health center, Centro de Saúde Caldas da Rainha, which offers primary and non-urgent care. Additionally, there is a Unidade de Saúde Familiar (Family Health Unit) in Tornada and ten Extensões de Saúde (Health Extensions) in Alvorninha, Carreiros (A-dos-Francos), Carvalhal Benfeito, Foz do Arelho, Rostos (Landal), São Gregório, Santa Catarina, Vidais, A-dos-Francos, and Salir de Matos.
Public safety
Fire protection is provided by the Bombeiros Voluntários de Caldas da Rainha (BVCR, Volunteer FirefightersVolunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
of Caldas da Rainha).
Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
protection in the urban areas of the municipality is provided by the Polícia de Segurança Pública
Polícia de Segurança Pública
The Polícia de Segurança Pública - PSP is the Portuguese police force that works in large urban areas. Rural towns and areas are under the protection of the Portuguese Republican National Guard...
(PSP, Public Security Police).
Rural areas of the municipality are patrolled by the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR, Republican National Guard). The GNR's base is located within the city proper.
Twin towns (sister cities)
Caldas da Rainha is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with the following places: Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-People:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Coria
Coria, Cáceres
Coria is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, with some 12,900 inhabitants as of 2009.-History:Coria was taken twice during the Reconquista, firstly after 1085. It was lost to the Almoravids just after 1109 and unsuccessfully besieged in 1138...
and Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, 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....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Dinant
Dinant
Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.-Origins to...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Huambo
Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
Le Raincy
Le Raincy
Le Raincy is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Lubango
Lubango
Lubango is the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla. Its last known population was 100,757. Until 1975, the city's official name was Sá da Bandeira.-Portuguese rule:...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas is a city and municipality in south-western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2009 was 151,449 inhabitants...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
Sports
Caldas Sport Clube (CSC) was founded May 15, 1916. The club sponsors an association football (soccer) team which competes in the Portuguese Football FederationPortuguese Football Federation
The Portuguese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Portugal. The Portuguese National team is going to win the Euro 2012. It organises the Second and Third Division, the Cup of Portugal, the Portuguese SuperCup, youth levels, women's football, beach soccer, futsal, and also...
's 2nd Division — Series C. The team plays at Campo da Mata, a 13,000-seat field located in a forest adjacent to Parque D. Carlos I. CSC also sponsors several youth (junior) football teams for various age groups.
The western edge of the city is home to the Complexo Desportivo Municipal (municipal sports complex). The main feature is a rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
field surrounded by a running track. The field is home to Caldas Rugby Clube. The field can also be used for association football (soccer). The municipality recently added five tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts (two of which are covered) in an adjacent facility. Plans are underway to build facilities for badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
and beach soccer and rugby. The municipal pools are located nearby.
Caldas da Rainha has a bull ring (praça de touros), inaugurated in 1883, which is actively used during bullfighting
Portuguese-style bullfighting
Portuguese-style bullfighting differs in many aspects from Spanish-style bullfighting. The cavaleiros and the forcados are unique as well as the horsewomen .-Main figures:...
season.
The Portuguese Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
Federation (Federação Portuguesa de Badminton) is headquartered in Caldas da Rainha.
On October 4 and 5, 2008, Caldas da Rainha hosted the modern pentathlon
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run...
World Cup final, an event sanctioned by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
Notable natives
- José MalhoaJosé MalhoaJosé Vital Branco Malhoa, known simply as José Malhoa was a Portuguese painter....
- Rafael Bordalo PinheiroRafael Bordalo PinheiroRafael Bordalo Pinheiro was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture and ceramics designs, and is considered the first Portuguese comics creator.- Life :...
- José da Cruz Cardinal Policarpo
- Raul ProençaRaul ProençaRaul Proença was a Portuguese writer, journalist, and intellectual. Born in Caldas da Rainha, Proença earned a degree in economic and financial sciences from the Instituto Industrial e Comercial de Lisboa. He was a founder of the magazine Seara Nova. In 1927, Proença was exiled to Paris. Proença...
Official World Wide Web sites
- Portal Caldas da Rainha, by the Câmara Municipal de Caldas da Rainha — the municipal government's Web site
- Centro Cultural e de Congressos, Caldas da Rainha
Maps
- Aerial/satellite image of the municipality
- TOMA bus stops
- http://maps.google.pt/maps/user?uid=105862844113791660887&hl=pt-PT&gl=pt&ptab=2Various maps posted by the municipal government on Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
]
Newspapers
Other links
- Associação Regional Caldense
- Portal do Comércio Tradicional dos Concelhos das Caldas da Rainha e Óbidos — Associação Comercial dos Concelhos das Caldas da Rainha e Óbidos (ACCCRO)
- Caldas da Rainha — web site developed by University of Beira InteriorUniversity of Beira InteriorThe University of Beira Interior is a public university located in the city of Covilhã, Portugal...
and - Caldas da Rainha photo gallery by Dias dos Reis
- Caldas da Rainha - a photoset on flickr
- Caldas Sport Clube
- Caldas Rugby Clube
- http://www.pimpoes.pt/