Batalha (), officially Town of Batalha (), is a town and a municipality in historical Beira Litoral province, and Leiria district in the Centro of Portugal. The town's name means "battle". The municipality population in 2011 was 15,805,Instituto Nacional de Estatística in an area of . The town proper has around 8,548 inhabitants in an area of . The municipality is limited to the North and West by the municipality of Leiria, to the East by Ourém, to the Southeast by Alcanena and to the Southwest by Porto de Mós.
The town was founded by King D. João I of Portugal, jointly with the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha (a World Heritage Site), to pay homage to the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota (14 August 1385) that put an end to the 1383–1385 Crisis.
History Although there are countless traces throughout the region that allude to a human occupation since prehistoric times, passing through the Roman period and, successively, throughout history (it is believed that the Roman settlement of Collipo, originally of the Turduli people, established in São Sebastião do Freixo), Vila da Batalha owes its origin to the construction of the Santa Maria da Vitória Monastery. In fact, Batalha was born with the Avis Dynasty and the consolidation of Independence in 1385.
The administrative figure of the parishes is only drawn and defined throughout the second half of the 19th century, with Liberalism, so that on 14 September 1512, when the Prior-Major of Santa Cruz de Coimbra, D. Pedro Vaz Gavião, creates the parish of Batalha, it is evidently the seat that, however, delimits and is the first form of future civil parish.
Demography Population of the municipality of Batalha (1801–2011) 1801 1849 1900 1930 1960 1981 1991 2001 2004 2011 2510 2445 7107 9634 13 811 12 588 13 329 15 002 15 542 15 805
Monuments
Batalha Monastery Estátua Equestre de São Nuno de Santa Maria (1966–1968) Igreja Matriz de Exaltação de Santa Cruz (1514–1532) Capela da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (18th century) Ponte da Boutaca (1862) Pelourinho (Restored in 2000) Edifício Mouzinho de Albuquerque – Galeria de Exposições Capela de Nossa Senhora do Caminho Boca da Mina das Barrojeiras Igreja Paroquial Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Ermida de Nossa Senhora do Fetal Moinhos de Vento
Natural heritage
Grutas da Moeda Estremadura Limestone Massif Buraco Roto Pia da Ovelha Escarpa de falha do Reguengo do Fetal
Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias): Batalha Golpilheira Reguengo do Fetal São Mamede
Twin towns – sister cities
Batalha is twinned with: Trujillo, Spain (since 1992) Joinville-le-Pont, France (since 2008)
Notable people Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque (1855 in Batalha – 1902) a Portuguese cavalry officer. Olegário Benquerença (born 1969 in Batalha) a retired Portuguese football referee.
References
External links
Photos from Batalha Adrian Fletcher's Paradoxplace Batalha Pages (photos) Camara Municipal da Batalha Monastery of Batalha