Arganil

Arganil
Municipality
UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Local holiday	September 7
Website	www.cm-arganil.pt

Arganil (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐɾɣɐˈnil] ^ⓘ) is a town and municipality in Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 12,145,^[1] in an area of 332.84 km².^[2] The present mayor is Luís Paulo Costa, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is September 7.

History

The oldest traces of the history of the concelho (municipality) of Arganil are located in Lomba do Canho^[3] and the dolmen known as Dolmem dos Moinhos de Vento, very close to the town of Arganil. By the chronology of its construction and occupation, centered on the second and third quarters of the first century BC, well before the creation of the province of Lusitania, the military installation of Lomba do Canho corresponds to a phase of appropriation of the territory by the Romans. Not already the beginning of the conquest and submission of local populations, but a second moment of control and exploitation of resources, under the surveillance of a military garrison. Also in Côja (or Coja) it is possible to discover some occupation in older times.

The

and Ribeira da Mata, whose exploration since ancient times are recognized by multiple testimonies in its margins, have been a factor in attracting people to this region, located in a nodal point of the road network.

The remains of the Roman era found in Coja are not many, nor very significant. Those that are known, mainly located along the road that came from

, who survived the hardships of war. They would be a group of free men who populate this territory.

But as the territory becomes organized, attention inevitably turns to this area which is presented as an entrance to the 8th century Muslim incursions in the interior. Thus appear the first documents that prove actions carried out in order to organize the territory, building castles, occupying land, settling people.

From the XII century we know some names like the Frenchman Uzberto, Anaia Vestrariz, Randulfo Soleimás,

, plays a very important role in the social and economic development of the region, having given charter to Folques in the early thirteenth century, perhaps 1204, in addition to the charter that gave their land Fajão in 1233, Cepos in 1237 and Alvares, possibly even during the thirteenth century.

The Convent of Vila Cova de Alva appeared only in the 18th century, linked to the Franciscans of the Province of Conceição. Its founder, or main driving force, was Desembargador Luís da Costa Faria, and it was João Coelho Coluna who took charge of the monastic house. According to the ideals and the Franciscan rule, the house of Vila Cova was modest, a fact that does not invalidate the fact that its chapel was decorated with quality images and boasted a sumptuous carving. The

.

The copy that is in the Arganil Town Hall has had its first 5 leaves amputated, which included the title page and the multiplication table. Its codicil structure is composed of two parchment notebooks. The maximum dimensions are 250mm x 170mm, with the text box occupying 160mm x 120mm. Each sheet presents at the center at the top the Roman numerals. Besides the fixed commerce, then relatively unimportant, it should be mentioned the fair of Mon'talto, which took place between 6 and 8 September each year, and attracted traders from various parts of the country, particularly from Beira Alta and Alentejo.

This ancient fair, which had the status of a free fair, was an extraordinary event, and not only from the commercial point of view, because it completely transformed the usual rhythm and monotony of daily life in Arganil, while allowing some rare moments of distraction and leisure. The main transactions were made in the business of fancaria, gold, footwear and raw linen (a branch in which deals were made valued at 80 contos, a very high amount for the time). Equally important was the livestock fair, especially with regard to cattle, considered the "main commercial factor of this fair, usually (...) being the regulator [barometer] of the respective transactional movement". In 1902, three days before the fair started, 122 stalls had been rented for white and woolen fabrics, 23 for hat makers, 10 for fine hardware, 7 for watchmakers, 18 for goldsmiths, 20 for raw linen, 6 for boilermakers, 7 for tinsmiths, 12 for shoemakers, 50 for haberdashery, 20 for cordage, 18 for heavy ironmongery, 9 for fine ware, 30 for saragças (thick woolen cloths), and 50 botequins.

From the first half of the twentieth century begins the process of installing electric light in the municipality of Arganil. This process will go through the entire 20th century, with the last villages receiving electric light almost at the end of the century. The Hidroeléctrica de Arganil (HEA) was the only company created in the municipality of Arganil with the exclusive purpose of "exploring electrical industries". Its constitution took place on February 22, 1927, and established that the company had its headquarters in Arganil and its factory - the

History of the civil parishes (freguesias)

The administrative division of the

freguesias

(civil parishes).

• The Parish of Benfeita only became part of this Municipality from 1853 onwards, having until this date belonged to the extinct Municipality of Côja.
• The parish of Cerdeira only became part of this council after 1853, having until this date belonged to the extinct Council of Côja.
• The Parish of Côja only became part of this county after 1853, having until this date belonged to the extinct County of Côja.
• The Parish of Vila Cova do Alva only became part of this county after 1853, having until this date belonged to the extinct Municipality of Côja.
• The parish of Anceriz only became part of this county from 1855, by extinguishing the Municipality of Avô.
• The parish of Celavisa only became part of this Municipality after 1855.
• The parish of Piódão only became part of this Municipality after 1855, due to the extinction of the Municipality of Avô.
• The parish of Pomares only became part of this county after 1855, by extinguishing the Municipality of Avô.
• The parish of Pombeiro da Beira only became part of this Municipality after 1855, by extinguishing the Municipality of Pombeiro da Beira.
• The Parish of S. Martinho da Cortiça only became part of this Municipality after 1855 by transition from the Municipality of Tábua, where it belonged since 1853, by extinguishing the Municipality of Farinha Podre, including at that time the Parish of Paradela, which was annexed to the Municipality of Tábua in 1895 and then to Penacova in 1898.
• The parish of Teixeira only became part of this Municipality in 1855, due to the extinction of the Municipality of Fajão.
• The parish of Barril de Alva was only created in 1924, having until then belonged to the parish of Vila Cova do Alva (called Vila Cova de Sub-Avô until that date).
• The Moura da Serra parish only became part of this county from 1962, having belonged to the parish of Avô and the County of Oliveira do Hospital until this date.

With the entry into force of Law No. 11 - A/2013 of 28 January (Administrative reorganization of the territory of the parishes), the Municipality of Arganil is now composed of 10 parishes and 4 unions of parishes:

• Parishes: Arganil, Benfeita, Celavisa, Folques, Piódão, Pomares, Pombeiro da Beira, São Martinho da Cortiça, Sarzedo and Secarias
• Parish Unions: Cepos-Teixeira, Cerdeira - Moura da Serra, Côja - Barril de Alva and Vila Cova de Alva - Anceriz.

Economy

The economy of the municipality of Arganil is centered on agriculture, forestry, construction and related light industry, as well as retail and services. The town has Intermarché, Lidl e Continente supermarkets.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 14 civil parishes (

Notable people

• Goldrofe of Arganil a Portuguese Augustinian prior in the Monastery of Saint Peter, (Wiki PT), in Arganil in 1086
• José Dias Ferreira (1837 in Pombeiro da Beira, Arganil – 1909, in Vidago) a Portuguese lawyer, politician and jurist
• José Simões Dias (1844 in Benfeita, Arganil – 1899) a poet, short-story writer and literary critic, as well as politician and pedagogue.
• Francisco Lopes (born 1955 in Vila Cova de Alva, Arganil) an electrician, politician and candidate in the 2011 Portuguese presidential election

References

External links

• Photos from Arganil
• More infos from Arganil
• http://arganil.blogspot.pt/