SINTRA

:''For the closed-cell PVC foamboard, see Sintra (Material)

'Sintra' (pron. ) is both a town and a municipality in Portugal, located in the district of Lisbon. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture.
It has become a major tourist attraction, with many day-trippers visiting from nearby Lisbon. Attractions include the fabulous Pena Palace (19th c.) and the Castelo dos Mouros (reconstructed 19th c.) with a breath-taking view of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, and the summer residence of the kings of Portugal Palácio Nacional de Sintra (largely 15th/16th c.), in the town itself. The Sintra Mountain Range, one of the largest parks in the Lisbon area, (''Serra de Sintra'') is also a major tourist attraction.

Contents

History

Geography and economy

Civil parishes

Transportation

Sister cities

See also

External links

History

The town was already described in the 11th century by the Arab geographer Al-Bacr and later by the poets Luís de Camões and Lord Byron (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage - 1809). The Moors built the Castelo dos Mouros in the 8th or 9th century. When Afonso Henriques, with the aid of Crusaders, recaptured Sintra in 1147, much of the castle was destroyed. Only four square towers, the battlements, and the ruins of a Romanesque chapel survived.
In 1493, Christopher Columbus sailing for the Spanish crown, was blown off course by gale force winds and fearing for the survival of his ship, spotted the Rock of Sintra. Despite the awkwardness of seeking safe harbor in Portugal, Columbus had no choice under the circumstances and sailed from there into the Port of Lisbon.
In 1507, Diogo Boitac built the Hieronymite monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena on the nearby hilltop. In 1527 king Manuel I commissioned to Nicolau Chanterene the large, white marble and alabaster altarpiece for the chapel. This retable is his finest work.
In 1808, it was the site of the signing of the controversial Convention of Sintra, which ended the first French invasion of Portugal.

Geography and economy

Major activities in the area are commerce and tourism. Tourists are drawn by the cultural heritage in the town itself, and Sintra-Cascais Natural Park which encompasses the Serra de Sintra and extends to the the coastal beaches of the municipality and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, which lies 18 kilometres west of Sintra.

Civil parishes

Major towns in the municipality are Algueirão-Mem Martins with 65,546, Agualva-Cacém with 55,762, Rio de Mouro with 46,023, Massamá with 28,174, Queluz with 27,910 and Monte Abraão with 22,039. Sintra is unique in the ''concelhos'' of Portugal in having the municipality seat in a town, despite having two cities in the municipality (Agualva-Cacém and Queluz), this is due to historical importance of Sintra, its desire to keep has a town and the cities in its municipalities are, in fact, bedroom communities.

★ Agualva

★ Algueirão-Mem Martins

★ Almargem do Bispo

★ Belas

★ Cacém

★ Casal de Cambra

★ Colares

★ Massamá

★ Mira-Sintra

★ Monte Abraão

★ Montelavar

★ Pero Pinheiro

★ Queluz

★ Rio de Mouro

★ São João das Lampas

★ São Marcos

★ Sintra (Santa Maria e São Miguel)

★ Sintra (São Martinho)

★ Sintra (São Pedro de Penaferrim)

★ Terrugem

Transportation

Some areas close to Lisbon are essentially residential suburbs already in conurbation with Amadora, Odivelas and Lisbon. According to recent statistics, Sintra's suburban railway is the most crowded suburban train system in Europe. Sintra's problems include major pendular movements to Lisbon, with terrible traffic during rush hour on the IC-19 road to Lisbon.

Sister cities

The following places are sister cities to Sintra:

★ Omura, Japan

★ Honolulu, USA
Within the context of development cooperation, Sintra is also linked to:

★ Asilah, Morocco (since August 2006)

★ El Jadida, Morocco

★ Trindade, São Tomé & Príncipe

★ Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

★ Lobito, Angola

★ Havana, Cuba

★ Vila Nova Sintra, Cape Verde Islands

★ Petrópolis, Brazil

★ Namaacha, Mozambique

See also

★ Monumento ao Bombeiro

External links

★ Municipality official website

★ Photos from Sintra

★ Sintra photographs

★ Serra da Lua

★ Quinta da Regaleira

★ Portugal travel page

★ Sintra-Cascais Natural Park

★ Museums in Sintra

★ UNESCO World Heritage Page

★ Postcard of Sintra