ELVAS
38° 52′ 48″ N, 7° 09′ 46″ W
Elvas is a Portuguese border town in the district of Portalegre, in the Alentejo region and in the Alto Alentejo sub-region, with 16,084 inhabitants (2021).
It is the seat of the municipality of Elvas with an area of 631.29 km² and 20,753 inhabitants (2021), subdivided into 7 parishes.
The municipality is bordered to the north by the municipality of Arronches, to the northeast by Campo Maior, to the southeast by the municipality of Olivença, in Spain, to the east by the Spanish municipality of Badajoz, to the south by Alandroal and Vila Viçosa and to the west by Borba and Monforte.
Despite Portalegre being the district capital, Elvas is the largest city in the district of Portalegre.
At the gates of Spain, only 8 km (as the crow flies) from the city of Badajoz, Elvas was the most important stronghold on the Portuguese border, the most fortified city in Europe, having been nicknamed "Queen of the Border".
On September 16, 2013, Elvas and Badajoz signed a union protocol and became the Elvas-Badajoz Eurocity, with the aim of attracting more investment and development to the two cities. Another of the objectives of this union is to work together on a cultural, economic and tourist level. The two cities form a city with 210 487 inhabitants (2014).
Elvas is home to the largest set of bastioned fortifications in the world, the walls of Elvas, which together with the historic city center are a World Heritage Site, a title awarded by UNESCO on June 30, 2012. This inscription includes the Aqueduct of Amoreira, the forts of Graça and Santa Luzia, the forts of São Domingos or Piedade, São Pedro and São Mamede and the entire historic center, with the medieval fences and the remaining military buildings of the old stronghold of Elvas.
In 2007, according to a study carried out by the newspaper Expresso regarding the quality of life in Portuguese cities, Elvas was classified as the 12th best city in Portugal and the 2nd best in the Alentejo, only behind Évora.
Climate
Elvas is no exception in terms of the monotony of the Alentejo's characteristics, being one of the hottest cities in Portugal in the summer and already the hottest on several occasions.
Thus, the climate, with a Mediterranean character, presents a marked summer dryness and a rainy autumn and winter, obviously not as rainy as in certain regions of the country, at higher altitudes or closer to the oceanic influence.
Thus, the summers present very high temperatures, easily reaching over 40 °C (maximum recorded at 46 °C in August 2003) and, on the other hand, the winters are very cold and with frequent frosts (negative temperatures are often reached during nights and hail), which determines an annual temperature variation of around 45 °C.
Parishes of the municipality of Elvas
The municipality of Elvas is divided into 7 parishes:
Union of Parishes of Assunção, Ajuda, Salvador and Santo Ildefonso (urban);
Union of the Parishes of Caia, São Pedro and Alcáçova (urban);
Santa Eulalia (rural);
São Brás and São Lourenço (semi-urban);
São Vicente and Ventosa (rural);
Union of the Parishes of Barbacena and Vila Fernando (rural);
Union of Parishes of Terrugem and Vila Boim (rural)
