Oliveira do Hospital

Oliveira do Hospital
Municipality

The village Avô, in the southern part of the municipality

Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 40°21′32″N 7°51′45″W / 40.35889°N 7.86250°W / 40.35889; -7.86250Coordinates: 40°21′32″N 7°51′45″W / 40.35889°N 7.86250°W / 40.35889; -7.86250
Country  Portugal
Region Centro
Subregion Pinhal Interior Norte
Intermunic. comm. Região de Coimbra
District Coimbra
Parishes 16
Government
 • President José Carlos Alexandrino Mendes (PS)
Area
 • Total 234.52 km2 (90.55 sq mi)
Elevation 500 m (1,600 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 20,855
 • Density 89/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone WET/WEST (UTC+0/+1)
Postal code 3400
Area code 238
Website http://www.cm-oliveiradohospital.pt

Oliveira do Hospital (Portuguese pronunciation: [oliˈvɐjɾɐ ðu ɔʃpiˈtaɫ]) is a municipality in the old district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855,[1] in an area of 234.52 km².[2]

History

Oliveira do Hospital has seen human occupation dating back to the Neolithic, as seen from this example: the Dolmen of Pinheiro dos Abraços
The Roman ruins in the civil parish of Bobadela

Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospital has Roman settlements, Visigothic relics, noble Gothic mansions as well as ancient villages built of slate. One can find Neolithic and Bronze Age burial grounds and genuine religious and rural relics such as the large granite outcroppings used as threshing floors, the Holy Cross Church and the Ferreiros Chapel, a Roman Gothic style temple dating to the 13th century and the Church of Sao Gião, known as the cathedral of its region due to its richly carved and painted 18th century Baroque interior.

Geography

It is located at the northern edge of the district of Coimbra in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela Mountains, bisected by the Alva and Alvoco River valleys. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 16 civil parishes (freguesias):[3]

Economy

Its fertile geographic position favors agriculture, which is the dominant activity of the region with wine and cheeses being its most important products. Regarding its business sector, confections, machine tools, packaging and toys are the most important. Oliveira do Hospital is known not only for its natural beauty but its cuisine, arts and crafts.

Transport

Although Oliveira do Hospital is well within the interior of the country, transportation services are quite adequate and have been increasing as befits a growing region. There are a number of roads to the coast and other cities, the best known being the scenic Estrada da Beira.

The Bridge with Three Entrances (Ponte das Três Entradas), a very rare three-way bridge, crosses the Alva River at Oliveira do Hospital.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. ↑ Direção-Geral do Território
  3. ↑ Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, page 552 85" (pdf) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 July 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.