VILA VIÇOSA
38.78214º N; 7.42086º W
It is the seat of a municipality with an area of 194.86 km² and 8 319 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 4 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north and east by the municipality of Elvas, to the south by Alandroal, to the west by Redondo, and the northwest by Borba.
In Vila Viçosa, the Dukes of Bragança maintained, for several centuries, until the Proclamation of the Republic, their properties and the magnificent Paço Ducal de Vila Viçosa.
It is in Vila Viçosa that we find the National Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, with the original image that received the crown of Portugal by the hands of King D. João IV and from then on to become the patron and queen of Portugal.
Vila Viçosa was successively occupied by the Romans and Muslims. It is conquered by the kingdom of Portugal in 1217.
In 1755, Vila Viçosa was strongly shaken by the 1755 Earthquake. In the early 19th century, Vila Viçosa was sacked during the French Invasions.
With the Proclamation of the Republic on October 5, 1910, Vila Viçosa fell into decay, due to the Republicans' aim to erase all vestiges of the monarchy. However, in the 1930s, with the exploitation of marbles (Estremoz Marble) and the opening of the Paço Ducal de Vila Viçosa for tourism, Vila Viçosa began to change until today. Currently, as with many Alentejo cities, its population is decreasing, the main factor responsible for which is emigration to other regions of Portugal or even abroad.
