Monforte, Portugal

Monforte
Municipality

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Coat of arms
Coordinates: 39°03′N 7°26′W / 39.050°N 7.433°W / 39.050; -7.433Coordinates: 39°03′N 7°26′W / 39.050°N 7.433°W / 39.050; -7.433
Country  Portugal
Region Alentejo
Subregion Alto Alentejo
Intermunic. comm. Alto Alentejo
District Portalegre
Parishes 4
Government
  President Gonçalo Nuno Lagem (CDU)
Area
  Total 420.25 km2 (162.26 sq mi)
Population (2011)
  Total 3,329
  Density 7.9/km2 (21/sq mi)
Time zone WET/WEST (UTC+0/+1)
Website http://www.cm-monforte.pt

Monforte (Portuguese pronunciation: [mõˈfɔɾt(ɨ)]) is a municipality in the District of Portalegre in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,329,[1] in an area of 420.25 km².[2]

The present Mayor is Gonçalo Nuno Lagem, elected by the Coligação Democrática Unitária.

History

The human occupation of this territory began in the neolithic period, with small communities farming and cattle raising. The Roman civilization had an important influence in these lands leaving a rich patrimonial legacy.

During the Middle Ages there existed in the territory of the present council two different population nucleus, the Villa of Monforte and the Villa of Assumar.

The first Letter of charter was granted in 1257, by D.Afonso III, to the Villa of Monforte. It would be it given new letter of charter on July 1, 1512, by D. Manuel I. In 1281, D. Dinis offered it to its daughter D. Isabel, as gift of its marriage. In 1455, the Villa of Monforte entered in the ownership of the territorial domain of Bragança's House, through the donation done by D. Afonso V to the count of Arraiolos. The toponym derives of fortified hill or of fort, where the village seems to have had origin.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):[3]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.