Historic villages of Portugal

The aldeias Históricas de Portugal (AHP, dt: Historic Villages of Portugal, also simple: aldeias Históricas ) are an association of twelve medieval villages in Portugal.

History

In 1991, the Portuguese central government initiative to obtain a support program places with historical center of the interior. This should at the same time economic boost in the more remote and little from the economic boom benefiting areas are set in the interior.

Began in 1994, the PPDR Program ( Programa de Operacional Promoção do Desenvolvimento Regional Integrado, dt: Operational Programme for Integrated Regional Development), under the second Quadro COMUNITARIO de Apoio (German: Community Support Framework Programme, 1994-1999)

Launched in 1998 under which, and with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, Portuguese: FEDER), the Plano de Recuperação the aldeias Históricas (German: restoration plan of the historic villages). Target were the territories of the former regions of Beira Alta and Beira Baixa, are affected today by increasing rural exodus. By improving and creating local infrastructure, the quality of life of the residents should be improved. In addition, should, by accompanying tourism marketing, small and medium enterprises, such as in rural tourism, arise which enable the population to lasting prospects locally.

The selection of places was based on criteria such as cultural diversity, number of historical monuments, and diversity of traditional, yet lively traditions. Ten sites were included in this first phase in the program. Castelo Bom should also be included, but this was limited to ten.

By the third Quadro COMUNITARIO de Apoio (2000-2006), the program was further expanded to two more locations have been added.

Reception

The initiative of the aldeias Históricas acceptance has been very positively received by the public. Some interventions in the context of the conservation measures of the villages have been criticized by experts as distortions or undue modernization, however, the program is generally viewed as a success of them. The acceptance is very high, and the name aldeias Históricas has since been a nationally known brand name. The participating locations are recommended in this framework as destinations for excursions and getaways from the media. As a result, further initiatives emerged to preserve regional traditions of aldeias Históricas, about the restaurant business.

In his travels, he in 1981 in his book Viagem a Portugal (English: Journey to Portugal, German Title: Journey to Portugal ) described, the Nobel Prize for Literature José Saramago visited all of today's aldeias Históricas, with the exception of Piódão.

Federated locations

As of 1998:

  • Almeida
  • Castelo Mendo
  • Castelo Novo
  • Castelo Rodrigo
  • Idanha -a- Velha
  • Linhares da Beira
  • MARIALVA
  • Monsanto
  • Piódão
  • Sortelha

From 2000, also:

  • Belmonte
  • Trancoso
Beira Alta Province Beira Baixa Province Urbanization Monsanto (Idanha-a-Nova) Almeida (Portugal) Idanha-a-Velha Belmonte Municipality
43051
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