Queluz, Portugal

Queluz
Cidade/City

The front facade of the Queluz National Palace, with one of the ornate fountains

Seal
Queluz

Location of the town of Queluz

Coordinates: PT 38°45′05″N 9°15′59″W / 38.75139°N 9.26639°W / 38.75139; -9.26639Coordinates: PT 38°45′05″N 9°15′59″W / 38.75139°N 9.26639°W / 38.75139; -9.26639
Country  Portugal
Region Lisbon
Subregion Greater Lisbon
District Lisbon
Municipality Sintra
Municipality Sintra
Parishes
Population (2001)
  Total 78,273
  Refers to the urbanized portions of the parishes of Massamá, Monte Abraão and Queluz only
Demonym(s) Sintrense
Time zone WET (UTC0)
  Summer (DST) WEST (UTC+1)
2745-NNN 2745-000:2745-999
Postal Zone (+351) 262 XX XX XX
ISO 3166 code PT
Website http://www.cm-sintra.pt

Queluz (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɛˈluʃ]) is a city located in the municipality of Sintra, in the Greater Lisbon Area of Portugal. It is formed from the urbanized areas of the civil parishes of Massamá, Monte Abraão and Queluz, but also influences the development of surrounding parishes, such as Almargem do Bispo, Belas, Barcarena and Casal de Cambra. With an urban population of 78,273 inhabitants, it is one of the countries top ten urban agglomerations,[1] and classified on 24 July 1997, under Decree-Law No 88/97, as a city.[2]

History

The Robillon block of the Queluz National Palace, once the centre of the Portuguese Cortes during the reign of Maria I of Portugal
The former church of Queluz and part of the Pousada of D. Maria

The origin of the name Queluz has been disputed over time. The prevailing thesis, by David Lim and José Pedro Machado, suggests that the name had its origin in the Arabic terms (for tight valley) and Llûs (meaning almond), affirming the suggestion that it was in the The Valley of the Almond Tree. However, another suggestion, has it as forming from the Mountain of Light, Monte Abraão (the Mount of Abraham), where worship of the sun was common.

Human occupation of theis area dates back to the Late Neolithic or early Chalcolithic (between the third and fourth millennium B.C.), owing to the number of Neolithic monuments and vestiges from abandoned settlements unearthed by archeologists.[3] These earliest date established to this settlement was 4200 B.C., followed by comparable settlements in 2000 B.C. (in what today is the civil parish of Massamá).

In the year 1147, when Afonso I of Portugal forces conquered the city of Lisbon, a similar campaign within the Sintra mountains effectively captures the heath of Queluz, bringing the lands under Christian control.

From the first century, until the 18th century, the region was occupied by homes, farms and estates established by the clergy and/or nobility. Throughout most of the 18th century, the town was the residence of the Portuguese Crown, attracting the nobility to the Queluz National Palace

Geography

Visitors in the Felício Loureiro Park
The gardens of the Palace of Queluz

Crossed by Jamor river, the city is interspersed by various parks, with three in distact: two in the civil parish of Queluz and the other in Massamá:

Climate

Queluz has a micro-climate that is classified as an Upper Thermo-Mediterranean sub-humid type, with average annual precipitation of 825 millimetres (32.5 in).[5]

Population of
Queluz
(1930 - 2001)[6]
YearPop.±%
1930 3,225    
1940 4,967+54.0%
1950 7,968+60.4%
1960 15,476+94.2%
1970 27,815+79.7%
1981 48,112+73.0%
1991 60,370+25.5%
2001 78,273+29.7%

Transport

The modern Monte Abraão railway station within Queluz

With three train stations (Monte Abrão, Barcarena-Massamá and Queluz-Belas), Queluz falls within the Sintra-Lisbon corridor, with connections to Amadora and Sintra.[7]

Vimeca buslines connect Queluz to Oeiras, Lisbon, Amadora and Carcavelos.[8]

Taxi services within Queluz, handled from the centralized "taxi squares" and services achieved from telephone services.

Culture

A packed crowd during the Seventeenth Fair
Customers mingle through the booths in the Monte Abraão Fair along the Rua Cidade Desportiva
Almond tree

Between July and August is a free fair outside the D. Maria Pousada that recreates the golden age of the Queluz National Palace. The Seventeenth Fair recreates the reign of Queen Mary I of Portugal, and transports visitors back into a period where artisans and merchants produced arts and crafts. Choral concerts are also common to Sunday afternoons at Queluz National Palace, owing to the three choirs in the city.

Similarly, the Monte Abraão Fair (held every Saturday in the Rua Cidade Desportiva) is the biggest in Queluz, allowing the sale of clothes, handicrafts, fruits and vegetables, flowers and implements.

Sport

Notable citizens

Old house of Stuart Carvalhais, today demolished

References

  1. Nuno Pires Soares (ed.), Uma População que se Urbaniza (Census of 2001) (PDF) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Geográfico Português
  2. Decrete Lei Nº.88/97 (PDF), Lisbon, Portugal: Diário da República, 24 July 1997, retrieved 12 October 2012
  3. "Projecto de Lei nº 229/VII: Elevação de Queluz à categoria de cidade" (in Portuguese). PCP. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  4. In winter the park is closed at around 6:00 p.m.
  5. Green Plan of the Municipality of Sintra Archived August 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. Law Project nº 229/VII
  7. CP
  8. Vimeca
  9. Cidade de Queluz
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