Caldas da Rainha

City Coat of Arms
District	Leiria
Mayor   - Party	Fernando José da Costa
Area	254.6 km²
Population  - Total  - Density	48,846 197.1/km²
Parishes	16
Coordinates	39º40' N 9º13'W
Municipal holiday	May 15
Official website: www.cm-caldas-rainha.pt

Caldas da Rainha is a city (Portuguese: cidade) in Portugal. The name can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs", "Queen's Spa" or "Queen's Thermal Waters". Caldas da Rainha is the seat of the larger municipality (Portuguese: concelho or município) of the same name. Caldas da Rainha is the capital of the Comunidade Urbana do Oeste (West Urban Community; part of the nation's latest local government plan). The city is best known for its hot springs and pottery. Image File history File links CLD.png Crest of Caldas da Rainha municipality (Portugal) Author: Sérgio Horta The author has agreed to usage of his works under the GNU-FDL, as long as he is quoted as the source: Caro Senhor, Manuel Anastácio File links The following pages... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... Image File history File links LocalCaldasDaRainha. ... Districts There are 18 Districts (distritos, singular - distrito) in mainland Portugal: note: Territorial division in Portugal is currently in flux, because of planned decentralization. ... Leiria is a district of Portugal. ... A mayor (from the Latin maÄ«or, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Political parties in Portugal lists political parties in Portugal. ... Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A freguesia is a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and the former Portuguese overseas province of Macao. ... This article is about longitude and latitude; see also UTM coordinate system Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (vertically) and longitude (horizontally); large version (pdf) The geographic (earth-mapping) coordinate system expresses every horizontal position on Earth by two of the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system which... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... Melbourne, Australia by night For alternate meanings see city (disambiguation) A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... A cidade is a city in Portugal. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... A concelho is the primary local administrative unit in Portugal (and other Lusophone countries). ...

History

The Founding

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 it 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), reminds us of both its founder and the reason for its existence. Leonor of Viseu (1458-1525) was a Princess and later Queen of Portugal. ... John II of Portugal João II of Portugal (Portuguese pron. ... District Leiria Mayor   - Party Telmo Henrique Correia Daniel Faria PSD Area 142. ... Batalha is a Portuguese town located in the District of Leiria, Pinhal Litoral subregion, Centre region, with 500 inhabitants. ...

Evolution

Caldas da Rainha was officially elevated to the status of town (Portuguese: vila) in 1511. It became a city in 1927. Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town In American English, a town is usually a municipal corporation that is smaller than a city but larger than a village. ... A vila is a town in Portugal. ...

Historical Tidbits

During World War II hundreds of Jewish refugees came to Caldas da Rainha to escape Nazism. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies and, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ...

Coat of Arms

Caldas da Rainha's coat of arms was granted by Queen Leonor, before municipal coat 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. A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing coats-of-arms, also referred to as armorial bearings or simply as arms. Its origins lie in the need to distinguish participants in battles or jousts and to describe the various devices they carried or painted on their shields. ...

Law/Government

Câmara Municipal

• President: Fernando José da Costa
• Vice-President: Fernando Manuel Tinta Ferreira
• Members (Party):
  • Fernando Manuel Tinta Ferreira (PSD)
  • Maria da Coneição Feliciano Antunes Bretts Jardim Pereira (PSD)
  • Jorge Manuel Mangorrinha Martins (PSD)
  • Hugo Patrício Martinho de Oliveira (PSD)
  • Herminio do Coito Maçãs (PS)
  • João Pedro da Silva Correia (PS)

A Câmara Municipal (literally, municipal chamber; can also refer to the building: town or city hall) is the executive body of a concelho (municipality) in Portugal. ... The Social Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Social Democrata) is a political party in Portugal. ... The Socialist Party (Portuguese: Partido Socialista) is a political party of Portugal. ...

Assembleia Municipal

• President: Luis Manuel Monteiro Ribeiro
• Members (Party):
  • José Luís de Carvalho Lalanda Ribeiro (PSD)
  • José Eduardo Vera Cruz Jardim (PS)
  • Luís Manuel Pereira Monteiro Ribeiro (PSD)
  • Rui Alves Gomes (PSD)
  • Manuel Mendes Nunes (PS)
  • José Fernando d'Almeida Silva Pereira (PSD)
  • Luís Miguel da Rosa Goulão Freire (PSD)
  • Arnaldo Lino Monteiro da Rocha (PS)
  • Faustino Filipe Cunha (PSD, Independent)
  • Mário de Sousa Tavares (PS)
  • Daniel Miguel Rebelo (PSD)
  • Duarte Nuno Batista Ferreira (CDS/PP)
  • Maria Da Conceição da Costa Martins (PSD)
  • Maria Margarida Nave Nunes Maldonado Freitas (PS)
  • Pedro Miguel de Oliveira Marques (PSD)
  • Nuno Filipe Vieira Lino Fausto de Sousa (PSD)
  • Mário António Duarte Pacheco (PS)
  • José Pedro Fernandes Viegas (PSD, Independent)
  • Ana Margarida Lopes Botelho (CDU)
  • Sara Maria Belo Velez (PS)
  • Vitor Manuel Antunes Gancho (PSD)

An Assembleia Municipal (municipal assembly) governs a concelho (municipality) in Portugal. ... The Democratic Social Center / Peoples Party (Portuguese: Centro Democrático Social / Partido Popular or CDS/PP) is a Portuguese political party. ... The Unitary Democratic Coalition (Portuguese: Coligação Democrática Unitária) is a political party in Portugal. ...

Geography

Caldas da Rainha is located at 39.40°N latitde 9.13°W longitde. The municipality comprises an area of 254.6 km² (updated 2003 statistics). The city is located approximately 82 km north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Although the municipality borders the Atlantic Ocean, the city proper is about 10 km from the ocean. District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Carmona Rodrigues PSD Area 84. ...

Administratively, Caldas da Rainha is in the district of Leiria. Statistically, it is in the sub-region of Oeste within the region of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo. Historically, it is located in the province of Estremadura. Leiria is a district of Portugal. ... Categories: Portugal geography stubs ... Location of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (pron. ... Estremadura Estremadura is a historical province of Portugal. ...

The municipality is bordered to the north by Alcobaça, to the east by Rio Maior and to the south by Bombarral, Cadaval and Óbidos. Coat of Arms Alcobaça is in the district of Leiria, in Portugal (though formerly included in the province of Estremadura), on the Alcoa and Baça rivers, from which it derives its name. ... Coat of Arms Rio Maior, is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 273. ... Bombarral is a Portuguese village in Leirias district, Centre Region and West sub-region. ... District Leiria Mayor   - Party Telmo Henrique Correia Daniel Faria PSD Area 142. ...

List of Freguesias

The municipality of Caldas da Rainha comprises sixteen parishes (Portuguese: freguesias). They are: A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... A freguesia is a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and the former Portuguese overseas province of Macao. ...

Note: Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre are urban freguesias and form the city of Caldas da Rainha; the other fourteen freguesias form the rural part of the municipality and do not belong to the city. Some sources, including the INE, count part or all of Tornada as being part of the city, due to its increasingly urban nature. The Instituto Nacional de Estatística is the National Statistical Institute of Portugal. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A-dos-Francos is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Alvorninha is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Carvalhal Benfeito is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Coto is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Foz do Arelho is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Landal is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Nadadouro is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... The freguesia of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, along with Santo Onofre, is one of the two freguesias which make up the city of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Salir de Matos is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Salir do Porto is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Santa Catarina is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... The freguesia of Santo Onofre, along with Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, is one of the two freguesias which make up the city of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... São Gregório is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Serra do Bouro is one of the sixteen freguesias (civil parishes) that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Tornada is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... Vidais is one of the sixteen freguesias that make up the concelho (municipality) of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. ... The Instituto Nacional de Estatística is the National Statistical Institute of Portugal. ...

The two freguesias which comprise the city are officially designated by the INE as Caldas da Rainha (N Senhora do Pópulo) and Caldas da Rainha (Santo Onofre). N Senhora do Pópulo is listed by this organization between Alvorninha and Carvalhal Benfeito, as if its name were simply Caldas da Rainha. Santo Onofre is last in the INE's list of Caldas's freguesias, because it was the most recent created, and the INE must not have wanted to upset the numeration of the freguesias.

Economy

There are 1,604 business firms in the municipality. 4% are in the primary sector (agriculture), 23.2% are in the secondary sector (manufacturing) and 72.8% are in the tertiary sector (services).

There are 30 banking institutions, with deposits totaling €528,543,300.

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.)

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (2002 statistics; employment stats are from 2001) The Instituto Nacional de Estatística is the National Statistical Institute of Portugal. ...

Demographics

As of the 2001 census, there are 48,846 inhabitants in the municipality. This represents a 13.1% increase over the 1991 population of 43,205. A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Of current inhabitants, 23,483 (48.1%) are male and 25,363 (51.9%) are female. Inhabitants aged 14 and under number 7,666 (15.7%), those aged 15 to 24 number 6,509 (13.3%), those aged 25 to 64 number 25,867 (53.0%) and those aged 65 and over number 8,804 (18.0%).

The population density is 197.1 inhabitants/km² (2002).

See the freguesias section for a breakdown of population by freguesia.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística The Instituto Nacional de Estatística is the National Statistical Institute of Portugal. ...

Sites of Interest

Beaches and Water

• Foz do Arelho — beach on Atlantic Ocean, 10 km from center of town
• Lagoa de Óbidos — lagoon which empties into the Atlantic Ocean
• Salir do Porto — beach on the Atlantic Ocean

Churches

• Ermida da São Sebastião — 16th-century chapel
• Igreja Nossa Senhora do Pópulo — church near the thermal hospital, ca. 1500, built by order of Queen Leonor
• Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (XX Century)

Museums

• Casa Museu de S. Rafael — ceramics
• Museu Atelier António Duarte — sculpture
• Museu Atelier João Fragoso — sculpture
• Museu da Cerâmica — ceramics museum
• Museu do Hospital e das Caldas — art museum asscociated with the thermal hospital
• Museu José Malhoa — art museum located in Parque D. Carlos I

Parks and Plazas

• Parque D. Carlos I — park in center of town
• Praça da República — square in center of town; surrounded by shops; hosts daily green market (aka Praça da Fruta)

Aka can refer to the following meanings: Aka is an initialism for Also Known As. ...

Colleges/Universities

• Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (CENFIM) — metallurgy and metal mechanics
• Centro de Formação Profissional para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL) — ceramics
• Escola de Tecnologia e Gestão Industrial (ETGI) — technology and industrial management (Associação para a Escola Superior de Biotecnologia da Universidade Católica, AESBUC)
• Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (Universidade Católica Portuguesa) — biotechnology
• Escola Superior de Educação de Leiria — education
• Escola Superior de Tecnologia, Gestão, Arte e Design (ESTGAD) — technology, management, art and design
• Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste — business technology
• Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa

Sports Teams

To come

Notable Natives

• Mestre António Duarte
• José Malhoa
• Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
• Raul Proença

José Vital Branco Malhoa, known simply as José Malhoa (April 28, 1855 ; October 26, 1933) was a Portuguese painter, born in Caldas da Rainha. ... Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (21 March 1846 - 23 January 1905) was a Portuguese artist known for his painting, caricatures and sculpture. ...

Local Interest

Ceramics

Caldas da Rainha is known for its glazed ceramic pottery (louça das Caldas). Much of this is shaped like fruits, vegetables and animals. Other styles include breasts, phalluses and nude figurines. The ceramics are available for purchase at stands in the daily market at Praça da República and shops in the vicinity. They are also available in stores outside Portugal, including a number of upmarket housewares stores. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Κεραμεικος (the name of a suburb of Athens), and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... The Latin word phallus (from the Greek phallos) and its derived adjective phallic, adopted in English and in many modern languages, refers to the penis. ...

One popular ceramic figure is Zé Povinho. This bearded peasant, a sort of symbol of the region, represents "everyman". He is shown with an upraised fist. Zé Povinho is a Portuguese character created in 1875 by a Portuguese artist named Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, and became the unofficial symbol of the Portuguese people. ...

The pottery can be utilitarian as well as decorative. One popular model is a soup tureen shaped like a cabbge.

Gastronomy

Cavacas das Caldas are a small-bowl-sized, shell-shaped confection of flour and eggs, with a crunchy sugar covering. Beijinhos das Caldas (English: "kisses") are similar, but are smaller and round. Gastronomy is the study of relationship between culture and food. ... The term confectionery refers to food items rich in sugar. ...

Miscellaneous Information

• Municipal Holiday: May 15
• Postal Code: 2500
• Telephone Dialing Code: 262

May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ...

External Links

Official Web Site

• Câmara Municipal de Caldas da Rainha — The municipal government's Web site (in Portuguese; English in development)

General Interest

• Oeste Online
• Caldas Online

Maps

• The city (Câmara Municipal)
• The city (viajar.clix.pt)
• The city center (viajar.clix.pt)
• Borders of the freguesias (Câmara Municipal)
• Colorful, clickable map showing sites and businesses (Caldas Online)
• Principal roads to Caldas da Rainha (Caldas Online)
• Caldas da Rainha in context of Disrict of Leiria (supertravelnet.com)

Newspapers

• Gazeta da Caldas
• Jornal das Caldas
• Jornal Oeste Online

Education

Colleges/Universities

• Centro de Formação Profissional para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL)
• Escola de Tecnologia e Gestão Industrial (ETGI)
• Escola Profissional Técnica Empresarial do Oeste
• Escola Superior de Artes e Design
• Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

Secondary Schools

• Escola Secundária de Raul Proença — contains some useful information in English

Miscellaneous

• Bandeiras do Concelho das Caldas da Rainha — Flag of the municipality (in Portuguese)
• Caldas da Rainha photo gallery by Dias dos Reis
• Associação Regional Caldense — Portuguese/American Caldas da Rainha Social Organization

Municipalities of the District of Leiria
Alcobaça | Alvaiázere | Ansião | Batalha | Bombarral | Caldas da Rainha | Castanheira de Pêra | Figueiró dos Vinhos | Leiria | Marinha Grande | Nazaré | Óbidos | Pedrógão Grande | Peniche | Pombal | Porto de Mós