1.
Municipalities of Portugal
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The municipality is the second-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. As a general rule, each municipality is subdivided into parishes. Six municipalities are composed of one parish, and Barcelos is the municipality with most parishes. Corvo is, by law, the municipality with no parishes. Since the creation of a local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body. The municipal chamber is the body and is composed of the president of the municipality. Both bodies are elected for four years, Portugal has an entirely separate system of cities and towns. Cities and towns are located in municipalities but often do not have the same boundaries, there are around twice as many cities and towns as there are municipalities. The municipality has been the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country in the 12th century and they have their origin in the foral, a legal document, issued by the King of Portugal, which assigned privileges to a town or a region. The present subdivisions have their origins in the 19th century after the administrative reforms conducted by the middle of 19th century by the governments of the constitutional monarchy, the concelhos probably formed after the expulsion of the Visigothic rulers by the Moors during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. Towns were thus free to govern themselves, and the population started to organize in councils in order to govern the town. These were also a reminder of Roman municipalities, there are 308 municipalities in Portugal,278 in mainland Portugal and 30 in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. They are usually named for their biggest city, or at least, however, the municipality is not synonymous with the city, and can include various towns or cities. In Portugal, cities/towns are a distinction based on population size and associated services. Before the 2013 local government reforms, Portugal was divided into 18 continental districts, the municipalities with the lowest population densities are also found in these inland regions, with smaller populations distributed over a greater area. This chart gives the number of inhabitants in the municipality area, municipality List of municipalities of Portugal Subdivisions of Portugal
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
4.
Administrative divisions of Portugal
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Administratively, Portugal is a unitary and decentralized State. Nonetheless, operationally, it is highly centralized system with administrative divisions organized into three tiers, the State is organized under the principles of subsidiarity, local government autonomy, and democratic decentralization of the public service. The government structure is based on the 1976 Constitution, adopted after the 1975 Carnation Revolution, in law 75/2013 of September 2013 the two types of administrative regions were defined, metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities. Also, the powers and duties of the parishes, municipalities, metropolitan areas. In addition, the Portuguese territory was redefined during European integration and these NUTS definitions, used for collecting statistical information, follow many of the countries border definitions. Although utilized by the Portuguese government, they do not have a status in law. Since 1978, Portugal conceded political autonomy to its North Atlantic archipelagos due to their distance, isolation, geographical context, the Azores is an archipelago of nine islands and several islets that were discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The Azores lies a third of the distance between Europe and North America, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Madeira is an archipelago that includes two principal islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, plus two uninhabited natural group of islands, the Desertas and Savage Islands. The archipelago is located closer to Africa than Europe, is commercial and urbanized. A plan to divide mainland Portugal in eight regions was defeated in a referendum in 1998, the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto were created in 1991. Finally in law 75/2013 of September 2013 the current two types of regions were defined, metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities. The Metropolitan Areas are territorial units formed by grouping municipalities, in order to economize on municipal investments, the territories of the intermunicipal communities are based on the NUTS III statistical regions. Preceding the nations independence, the oldest of the municipalities still in existence Coimbra and Santarém were founded in 1085 e 1095. São João da Pesqueira is the oldest Portuguese municipality, founded in 1055, since the creation of a democratic local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body and a deliberative body. The municipal chamber is the body, and is composed of a president of the municipality. There are 308 municipalities in Portugal and they are usually named for their biggest city, or at least, their historically most important city or town. However, the municipality is usually larger than the city or town after which it is named. The largest in area is Odemira with 1720.60 km², nearly all municipalities are subdivided into civil parishes
5.
Centro Region, Portugal
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The Centro Region is a region in central Portugal, and its capital is Coimbra. Other local cities with major administrative status inside this region are Aveiro, Viseu, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Covilhã, Figueira da Foz and it is one of seven Regions of Portugal. This is one of the regions of Europe, considered by the European Union for statistical and geographical purposes and its population in 2011 totalled 2,327,026 inhabitants, and its area is 28,462 km². Inhabited by the Lusitanians, an Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula, the Roman town of Conímbriga, near Coimbra, is among the most noted and well-preserved remains of that period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Visigoths were the rulers and colonizers from the 5th to the 8th century. In the 8th century the Muslim conquest of Iberia turned the region a Muslim-dominated territory, in the earliest years of the Christian Reconquista, just before the arise of a Portuguese national identity, the region was a battleplace for Muslim Moors and Christian crusaders. Once the Moors were expelled, the Christian kings and landlords made the region a county and it was integrated into the newly created Condado Portucalensis, the early precursor of the modern nation of Portugal. The modern region matches roughly the boundaries of the older historical Beira Province plus the Oeste in former Estremadura, Beira was an historical province of Portugal and its name was used by the heirs to the Portuguese throne during the monarchy regime, before 1910. The princes were known as the Princes of Beira, along this region’s mountainous border with Spain are a series of fortresses and castles that once protected the country from its many invaders. Over the centuries, Moors and Christians, Spaniards and Portuguese have all tried to take these villages, each village has a fascinating tale of its own to tell. All of their valiant efforts paid off, today Portugal boasts the longest-standing border in all of Europe. In these rural villages, ancient rituals and religious festivals remain popular, visitors can sample them and partake in traditional foods such as cheese, sausages and mountain honey. In the fortress town of Almeida, a walk through the cobbled streets can lead a visitor to the ruins of a once mighty 12-pointed fortress here. One of Portugal’s many Pousadas—an historic property turned into an inn—is located in Almeida, in the town of Castelo Rodrigo, a memorial stone marks the place of a fierce battle in 1664, and visitors can view the remains of the castle, its tower and a palace here. The town has a small, Gothic church, just near Castelo Mendo stands a beautiful bridge built by the Romans. Most of the castles in this region of Centro are classified as national monuments. These stone fortresses date back to the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, castles or parts of castles still stand at Alfaiates, Sortelha, Vilar Maior, Sabugal, Castelo Mendo, Castelo Bom, Castelo Rodrigo, Penamacor, Monsanto, Pinhel and Almeida. A 20-castle route has been delineated by the Portugal government, Sortelha, Castelo Mendo, Castelo Rodrigo and the fortified town of Almeida are considered gems among them all
6.
NUTS statistical regions of Portugal
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The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is developed by Eurostat, and employed in Portugal for statistical purposes. The NUTS branch extends from NUTS1, NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions, with the complementary LAU sub-categorization being used to differentiate the local areas, until 4 November 2002, the Sistema Estatístico Nacional used a NUTS codification system that was distinct from the Eurostat system. With the enactment of Decree Law 244/2002, published in the Diário da República, the NUTS system subdivides the nation into three levels, NUTS I, NUTS II and NUTS III. In some European partners, as is the case with Portugal, the LAU, or Local Administrative Units, in the Portuguese context pertains to the 308 municipalities and 3092 civil parishes respectively. In the broadest sense, the NUTS hierarchy, while they may follow some of the borders diverge in their delineation, the first and broadest subdivision of Portugal is between mainland Portugal and the two autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. Although the districts are still the most socially relevant subdivision, their function is being phased in favour of locally oriented regional units, and regions are growing in importance. The seven regions of Portugal are likewise subdivided into 25 subregions that, from 2015, represent the 2 metropolitan areas, the 21 intermunicipal communities, therefore, since the 2013 revision, the Portuguese subregions have a statutory and administrative relevance. The two autonomous regions in the Atlantic, correspond to their own NUTS I, II and III categories. com Municipalities of Portugal, Statoids. com Regiões de Portugal, LOCAL. PT
7.
Cova da Beira Subregion
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Cova da Beira is a NUTS3 subregion of Portugal integrated in the NUTS2 Centro region. It lies in the valley between the Serra da Estrela and Gardunha mountains. It covers an area of 1,373 km², with a population of 92,460 inhabitants for a density of 67 hab/km², the major cities are Covilhã, Fundão and Belmonte. The subregion has a significant economic output related mainly with textiles, food industry, agriculture, the most significant productions include woollen, fabrics, olive oil, wine, wood, cherries, peaches and other vegetables. Some of the most important wolframite mines in the world are explored within its limits, other important mines extract lead and tin. Mineral water is bottled from several sources, there is a state-run university in the city of Covilhã and a major state-run Hospital Center with buildings in Covilhã and Fundão. Cova da Beira subregion has 3 municipalities Belmonte Covilhã Fundão Cova da Beira IPR
8.
Districts of Portugal
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The Districts of Portugal, are the most important first-level administrative subdivisions of mainland Portugal. Currently, mainland Portugal is divided into 18 districts, the Portuguese autonomous regions of Açores and Madeira are no longer divided into districts. As an administrative division, each district served mainly as the area of jurisdiction of a civil governor, the Portuguese Constitution of 1976 specifies that Portugal has only, as first level divisions, the autonomous regions and the administrative regions. According to the Constitution, the districts shall be disestablished in the territories where an autonomous or administrative region has been created, so, the districts were abolished in Azores and Madeira when these autonomous regions were created, in 1976. In 1998, a proposal was submitted to referendum to create eight administrative regions in mainland Portugal and this proposal was rejected in the ballot and so the districts continued to exist in mainland Portugal. However, the importance of the districts has been decreasing, in recent years, some administrative, financial and political competencies have been delivered to the CCDRs and to the municipalities, to the detriment of the districts. In 2003, the Portuguese municipalities were allowed to organize themselves into communities and metropolitan areas. Besides, the abolition of the districts is a subject that came back for discussion in Portuguese society, other personalities support the creation of administrative regions and therefore the abolition of districts. In September 8,2011, a decree from the Portuguese Government de facto extinguished all the offices of civil governor, as the existence of the civil governors is still included in the Portuguese Constitution, its de jure extinction can only be done after a constitutional amendment. In mainland Portugal, for administrative purposes, the districts are used as the areas of jurisdiction of the local branches. In these territories, each district was headed by a district governor, in Angola and Mozambique, the former district areas mostly coincide with the modern province areas. In the former Portuguese India, the Damão and Diu districts are still divisions of the present union territory of Daman and Diu, constituição da República Portuguesa, VII Revisão Constitucionl
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