Vila de Rei Municipality
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Template: Infobox city in Portugal / Maintenance / Web page is blank Vila de Rei Vila is a ( small town ) in Portugal. It is the seat of a district of the same ( concelho ) and a municipality of the same ( Freguesia ).
Geography
The place is about 70 km from the eastern district capital Castelo Branco. It is also located on the A23 motorway, 23 km north of Abrantes and its connection.
In Vila de Rei is near the geographical center of continental Portugal.
History
Vila de Rei got the Charter ( Foral ) in 1285 by King D.Dinis. During the 13th century, the settlement of the area has been driven by the Knights Templar and later the Order of Christ. King Manuel I renewed the city rights 1513th
The place suffered in 1810 for looting and damage at the hands of marauding Napoleonic troops during the French invasions.
With the construction of the dam of Castelo de Bode in 1950 and the rise of the Rio Zêzere the county lost some westerly parts of its territory. So went eight villages under the rising water. Between 1986 and 2003 a series of forest fires raged and destroyed about 80 % of the forest areas of the district. By planting the county was able to significantly increase its forest areas now back.
Culture and sights
In the village there is the Museu de Geodesia a museum to the geographic center of the country. For this purpose, called a monument to the exact geographic center.
Besides a number of mainly ecclesiastical monuments, the entire historic center, founded by the Knights Templar from the 13th century is a historical monument.
In the municipality of Vila de Rei is located at the village of Água Formosa one of the 27 special slate villages, the aldeias do xisto.
Management
Circle
Vila de Rei is the administrative seat of the homonymous district. The neighboring districts are ( clockwise beginning in the north): Sertã, Mação, Sardoal, Abrantes and Ferreira do Zêzere.
The following parishes ( freguesias ) lying in circle Vila de Rei:
- Fundada
- São João do Peso
- Vila de Rei
Demographics
Local holiday
Sons and daughters of the town
- Sebastião José Pereira (1857-1925), bishop in Mozambique and in Daman
- Mateus de Oliveira Xavier (1858-1929), Archbishop of Goa and Daman
- José Cardoso Pires (1925-1998), writer