Batalha | |
|---|---|
.jpg)  .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Coordinates:39°39′N8°48′W / 39.650°N 8.800°W /39.650; -8.800 | |
| Country |  Portugal |
| Region | Centro |
| Intermunic. comm. | Região de Leiria |
| District | Leiria |
| Parishes | 4 |
| Area | |
• Total | 103.42 km2 (39.93 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 15,805 |
| • Density | 150/km2 (400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+00:00 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (WEST) |
| Website | www |
Batalha (Portuguese pronunciation:[bɐˈtaʎɐ]ⓘ) is a town and a municipality in historicalBeira Litoral province, andLeiria district in theCentro ofPortugal. The town's name means "battle". The municipality population in 2011 was 15,805,[1] in an area of 103.42 km2 (39.93 sq mi).[2] The town proper has around 8,548 inhabitants in an area of 28.42 km2 (10.97 sq mi).[3] The municipality is limited to the North and West by the municipality ofLeiria, to the East byOurém, to the Southeast byAlcanena and to the Southwest byPorto de Mós.
The town was founded byKingD.João I of Portugal, jointly with the Monastery ofSanta Maria da Vitória na Batalha (aWorld Heritage Site), to pay homage to the Portuguese victory at theBattle of Aljubarrota (August 14, 1385) that put an end to the1383–1385 Crisis.
Although there are countless traces throughout the region that allude to a human occupation since prehistoric times, passing through theRoman period and, successively, throughout history (it is believed that the Roman settlement ofCollipo, originally of theTurduli people, established in São Sebastião do Freixo), Vila da Batalha owes its origin to the construction of theSanta Maria da Vitória Monastery. In fact, Batalha was born with theAvis Dynasty and the consolidation of Independence in 1385.[4]
The administrative figure of the parishes is only drawn and defined throughout the second half of the 19th century, with Liberalism, so that on September 14, 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.[4]
| 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 |
.jpg)
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):[5]
Batalha istwinned with:
Trujillo, Spain (since 1992)[6]
Joinville-le-Pont, France (since 2008)[7]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
