Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha is a city (cidade) and municipality (município) / "council" (concelho) in Portugal. The name can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs", "Queen's Spa" or "Queen's Thermal Waters".| Table of contents |
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2 Law/Government 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Sites of Interest 7 Colleges/Universities 8 Sports Teams 9 Notable Natives 10 External Links |
History
To come
Law/Government
Fernando José da Costa is the president of the Câmara Municipal (the "city council"), equivalent to a mayor in U.S. cities. Luis Manuel Monteiro Ribeiro is the president of the Assembleia Municipal (the "municipal assembly").
Geography
Caldas da Rainha is located at 39.40°N latitde 9.13°W longitde. The municipality comprises an area of 256.0 km2. The city is located approximately 82 km north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Although the municipality borders the Atlantic Ocean, the city proper is about 10 km from the ocean. Caldas da Rainha is in the district of Leiria, the region of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, and the province of Estremadura. (Provinces are historical, no longer political or administrative.)
List of Freguesias
The municipality comprises sixteen freguesias. They are:
| Freguesia | Population | Area (hectares) |
|---|---|---|
| A-dos-Francos | 1,797 | 1,978 |
| Alvorninha | 3,123 | 3,762 |
| Carvalhal Benfeito | 1,339 | 1,408 |
| Coto | 1,135 | 550 |
| Foz do Arelho | 1,223 | 995 |
| Landal | 1,144 | 994 |
| Nadadouro | 1,422 | 922 |
| Nossa Senhora do Pópulo | 14,453 | 1,210 |
| Salir de Matos | 2,428 | 2,429 |
| Salir do Porto | 770 | 991 |
| Santa Catarina | 3,282 | 1,994 |
| Santo Onofre | 10,775 | 911 |
| São Gregório | 907 | 1,442 |
| Serra do Bouro | 720 | 1,798 |
| Tornada | 3,150 | 1,982 |
| Vidais | 1,178 | 2,221 |
Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre belong to the city proper; the other fourteen are the "rural freguesias".
Economy
There are 1,587 business firms in the municipality. 4% are in the primary sector (agriculture), 22.6% are in the secondary sector (manufacturing) and 73.4% are in the tertiary sector (services).
There are 30 banking institutions, with deposits totaling €518,683,400.
49% of the population is employed, while 6.5% are unemployed. (The remainder are too young, are retired or do not otherwise participate in the workforce.)
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística - Portugal
Demographics
As of the 2001 census, there are 48,846 inhabitants in the municipality. This represents a 13.1% increase over the 1991 population of 43,205.
Of current inhabitants, 23,483 (48.1%) are male and 25,363 (51.9%) are female. Inhabitants aged 14 and under number 7,666 (15.7%), those aged 15 to 24 number 6,509 (13.3%), those aged 25 to 64 number 25,867 (53.0%) and those aged 65 and over number 8,804 (18.0%).
The popluation density is 191.9 inhabitants/km2.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística - Portugal
Sites of Interest
Beaches and Water
- Foz do Arelho — beach on Atlantic Ocean, 10 km from center of town
- Lagoa de Óbidos — lagoon which empties into the Atlantic Ocean
- Salir do Porto — beach on the Atlantic Ocean
Museums
- Casa Museu de S. Rafael — ceramics
- Museu Atelier António Duarte — sculpture
- Museu Atelier João Fragoso — sculpture
- Museu da Cerâmica — ceramics museum
- Museu do Hospital e das Caldas — art museum asscociated with the thermal hospital
- Museu José Malhoa — art museum located in Parque D. Carlos I
Parks and Plazas
- Parque D. Carlos I — park in center of town
- Praça da República — square in center of town; surrounded by shops; hosts daily green market (aka Praça da Fruta)
Colleges/Universities
- Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (Cenfim) — metallurgy and metal mechanics
- Centro de Formação Profissional para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL) — ceramics
- Escola de Tecnologia e Gestão Industrial (ETGI) — technology and industrial management (Associação para a Escola Superior de Biotecnologia da Universidade Católica, AESBUC)
- Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (Universidade Católica Portuguesa) — biotechnology
- Escola Superior de Educação de Leiria — education
- Escola Superior de Tecnologia, Gestão, Arte e Design (ESTGAD) — technology, management, art and design
- Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste — business technology
- Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
Sports Teams
To come
Notable Natives
- Mestre António Duarte
- José Malhoa
- Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
- Raul Proença
External Links
Official Web Site
- Câmara Municipal de Caldas da Rainha: The municipal government's website has been undergoing "updating" for quite some time. Click "Página Antiga da Câmara" to access "outdated site," available in Portuguese only.
- Map of Freguesias.
General Interest
Education
Colleges/Universities
- Centro de Formação Profissional para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL)
- Escola de Tecnologia e Gestão Industrial (ETGI)
- Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)
- Escola Superior de Educação de Leiria
- Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
Secondary Schools
- Escola Secundária de Raul Proença — contains some useful information in English