Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) .jpg) .jpg)  .png) | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: Caldas | |
 Interactive map of Caldas da Rainha | |
| Coordinates: 39°24′26″N 9°8′9″W / 39.40722°N 9.13583°W | |
| Country | Portugal  |
| Intermunicipal entity | Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste |
| NUTS I statistical division | Continente |
| NUTS II statistical region | Oeste e Vale do Tejo[1] |
| NUTS III statistical subregion | Oeste |
| District | Leiria |
| Historical province | Estremadura |
| Founded | 1484 |
| Vila (town) status | 1511 |
| Concelho/Município (Municipality) | 1821 |
| Cidade (city) status | 1927 |
| Founded by | Queen Leonor[2] |
| Named after | Queen Leonor |
| Freguesias (civil parishes) | 12
|
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality (Município, or concelho) |
| • Body | Câmara Municipal (executive) Assembleia Municipal (deliberative) |
| • Mayor | Vitor Manuel Calisto Marques (Vamos Mudar - MV) |
| • President of the Municipal Assembly | António Gonçalves Marques Curado (Vamos Mudar) |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 255.69 km2 (98.72 sq mi) |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 24 km (15 mi) |
| • Width | 22 km (14 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 255 m (837 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population | |
• Municipality | 51,729 |
| • Density | 202.3/km2 (524/sq mi) |
| • Statistical city | 30,343 |
| [note 1] | |
| Demonym | Caldense |
| Time zone | UTC±00:00 (Western European Time[13]) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (Western European Summer Time[13]) |
| Postal code (código postal) | 2500 |
| Area code | 262 |
| Municipal holiday | 15 May[14] |
| Website | www |
Caldas da Rainha[a] is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (OesteCIM, Intermunicipal Community of the West). At the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 51,729 in an area of 255.69 square kilometres (98.72 sq mi), with 30,343 residing in the city. Although the city itself lies about 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) inland, three of the municipality's civil parishes lie on the Atlantic Ocean. Caldas da Rainha is best known for its sulphurous hot springs and ceramic pottery.
The settlement was founded in the 15th century by Queen Leonor (Rainha Dona Leonor), who established a hospital and a church at the site of some therapeutic hot springs. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Spring Water Hospital, or Thermal Hospital) is the oldest purpose-built institution of its kind in the world, with five centuries of history. The city's name, often shortened to simply "Caldas", can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs", "Queen's Spa", or "Queen's Baths".
Caldas da Rainha is a UNESCO Creative City. It is home to many cultural institutions. The city's nine museums cover art, history, and cycling. Cultural and sports venues include Centro Cultural e de Congressos (CCC, Cultural and Conference Centre), a centre for performing arts, exhibitions, and conferences; Expoeste – Centro de Exposições do Oeste (Exhibition Centre of the West), which hosts exhibitions and festivals; a bullring; several football (soccer) pitches; and a multi-sport municipal complex. Caldas hosts six professional and higher-educational institutions, including a major arts and design school and a school devoted to ceramics.
History
[edit]
Early years
[edit]Caldas da Rainha was part of the ancient region Lusitania, inhabited by ancient Romans who took advantage of sulphurous waters sprouting in the region. Barbarian invasions destroyed most of the Roman-built baths. By the 13th century, the springs were known as "caldas de Óbidos", after the nearby town. At this time, a Benedictine order looked after the needs of the poor and cared for the lepers and rheumatics, who sought the healing waters. With the disbandment of the order by the 15th century, the area fell into disrepair.[15]
Queen Leonor (Rainha Dona Leonor, in Portuguese), the wife of King João II, is credited as the founder of Caldas da Rainha.[2] One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she happened upon a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. The queen stopped to inquire about this oddity, and the bathers told her that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them and was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of an unknown affliction that she had been suffering. On that site, the queen ordered a hospital built so that others could enjoy the same relief.[16] Construction began the following year, and although the first patients were admitted in 1488, the works were not completed until about 1496 or 1497. To finance the hospital and its adjoining church, the queen sold her jewels and used income from her landholdings.[15] The name of the settlement that grew around the site and became Caldas da Rainha refers to both its founder and the reason for its existence. The city's name can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs",[17] "Queen's Spa",[18] or "Queen's Baths".[19] The settlement's waters remain its major claim to fame.[20]
On 21 March 1511, King Manuel I, brother of Queen Leonor,[2] conferred the status of town (vila) upon Caldas da Rainha.[21] In 1821, it was made a municipality (