Torres Vedras
Encyclopedia
Torres Vedras (ˈtoʁɨʒ ˈvɛðɾɐʃ) 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 freguesia
s. It borders to Lourinhã
to the north, Alenquer
to the east, Sobral de Monte Agraço to the southeast, Mafra to the south and the Atlantic Ocean
to the west.
To the south of the municipality run the Lines of Torres Vedras
, constructed on the orders of the Duke of Wellington
in 1809-10.
above with five towers symbolizes the city rank. Below is a white scroll with the words CIDADE DE TORRES VEDRAS (Torres Vedras city).
Altogether the municipality has a population of 75,494, with a population density of 185 per km². The population growth between 1991 to 2001 was 7.5%.
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...
, about 50 km north of 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...
. It belongs to the Oeste subregion and the Centro region.
The municipality covers an area of 405.89 km² distributed over 20 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. It borders to Lourinhã
Lourinhã
Lourinhã is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 147.2 km² and a total population of 24,601 inhabitants. The seat of the municipality is the village of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inhabitants....
to the north, Alenquer
Alenquer
Alenquer is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 304.2 km² and a total population of 42,932 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in the District of Lisbon....
to the east, Sobral de Monte Agraço to the southeast, Mafra to the south and 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...
to the west.
To the south of the municipality run the Lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...
, constructed on the orders of the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
in 1809-10.
Parishes
The municipality is subdivided into 20 parishes.- A dos CunhadosA dos CunhadosA dos Cunhados is a parish in the municipality of Torres Vedras in Portugal. It covers an area of 43.98 km² and had a population of 6,936 as of 2001....
- CampelosCampelosCampelos is a civil parish in the municipality of Torres Vedras in Portugal....
- Carmões
- Carvoeira
- Dois Portos
- Freiria
- Maceira
- MatacãesMatacãesMatacães is a parish in Torres Vedras municipality, 50 km north of Lisbon. The name Matacães has a literal translation of "kill dogs" or "dog killer"...
- Maxial
- Monte Redondo
- Outeiro da Cabeça
- Ponte do Rol
- Ramalhal
- Runa
- Santa Maria do Castelo e São Miguel (Torres Vedras)
- São Pedro da Cadeira
- São Pedro e Santiago (Torres Vedras)
- SilveiraSilveiraSilveira is a parish in the municipality of Torres Vedras in Portugal. It covers an area of 24.76 km² and had a population of 6,496 as of 2001....
- Turcifal
- Ventosa
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows the flagged and roofed castle on red ground. Above the castle is the Portuguese coat of arms, with one star to each side. A mural crownMural crown
-Usage in ancient times:In Hellenistic culture, a mural crown identified the goddess Tyche, the embodiment of the fortune of a city, familiar to Romans as Fortuna...
above with five towers symbolizes the city rank. Below is a white scroll with the words CIDADE DE TORRES VEDRAS (Torres Vedras city).
Population
The municipality has a very dispersed demographics, with 21 urban agglomerates, of which most have less than 200 inhabitants. The resident population in the city of Torres Vedras (20.000 inhabitants in the two urban parishes) represents about 25% of the population of the concelho.Altogether the municipality has a population of 75,494, with a population density of 185 per km². The population growth between 1991 to 2001 was 7.5%.