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Caldas da Rainha

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Caldas da Rainha (pron. IPA /'kaɫ.ðɐʃ dɐ ʁɐ.'i.ɲɐ/) 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.


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.

Evolution

Caldas da Rainha was officially elevated to the status of town (Portuguese: vila) in 1511. It became a city in 1927.

Historical Tidbits

In the early 20th century, it had a significant artistic and intelectual life. During World War II hundreds of Jewish refugees came to Caldas da Rainha to escape Nazism.

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.

The municipality is bordered to the north by Alcobaça, to the east by Rio Maior and to the south by Bombarral, Cadaval and Óbidos.

List of Freguesias

The municipality of Caldas da Rainha comprises sixteen parishes (Portuguese: freguesias). They are:

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE)
Freguesia Population
(Resident)
(2001 census) 		Area
(Total)
(km2)
A-dos-Francos 1,797 19.78
Alvorninha 3,123 37.62
Carvalhal Benfeito 1,339 14.08
Coto 1,135 5.50
Foz do Arelho 1,223 9.95
Landal 1,144 9.94
Nadadouro 1,422 9.22
Nossa Senhora do Pópulo (part of the city of Caldas da Rainha) 14,453 12.30
Salir de Matos 2,428 24.29
Salir do Porto 770 9.91
Santa Catarina 3,282 19.94
Santo Onofre (part of the city of Caldas da Rainha) 10,775 9.11
São Gregório 907 14.42
Serra do Bouro 720 17.98
Tornada 3,150 19.82
Vidais 1,178 22.21

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 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)

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.

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

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 — gothic 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 (also known as Praça da Fruta)

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

Local Interest

Ceramics

Caldas da Rainha is well known for its glazed ceramic pottery (louça das Caldas). At the end of the 19th century, the ceramic industry set up place here, making the city Portugal's ceramic and pottery capital. Ancient references to pottery manufacturing can be found in the area, with soils rich in clay. A nearby village's name, Bombarral, can be translated as "good-clay pit", revealing that the pottery tradition has been settled here since ancient times. The typical Caldas pottery has evolved since its great boom in early 20th century, but the main types are still the same.

Main pottery genres

  • Utilitarian
    • Dishware
    • Kitchenware
  • Humoristic/peculiar
    • Decorative
    • Phallic
    • Caricatural
    • Naturalist

The Utilitarian dishware has two main forms: the contemporary wares, with simple lines and design, for daily use, easily available in many glazes and colors, and naturalist themed wares, featuring cabbage leafs, fish shaped plates or bowls. One popular model, created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, is a cabbage-shaped soup tureen.

The Humoristic pottery is mainly decorative, although some may not seem proper for display: the Phallic pottery includes breast-shaped mugs, phalluses, nude figurines and Toilet humour pieces.

The Caricatural pottery originally depicted social stereotypes or occupations (farmer, priest, fisherman) in a depreciative, sarcastic way. Today, public figures like polititians or celebrities are the most sought after, but the most popular is Zé Povinho. This bearded peasant, a character created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, used as a symbol of Portugal and the Portuguese people, appears in many jocular, defying poses.

The Naturalist pieces are usually plates or bowls with fruits, vegetables and seafood - in sometimes complex arrangements - are used as symbols of abundance (see Horn of Plenty), usually hung on the kitchen walls. The ceramics are available for purchase at stands in the daily market at Praça da República (Praça da fruta) and shops in the vicinity. They are also available in stores outside Portugal, including a number of upmarket housewares stores.

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.

Miscellaneous Information

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

Sister cities

Official Web Site

General Interest

Maps

Newspapers

Education

Colleges/Universities

Secondary Schools

Miscellaneous

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