Sintra

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History

The earliest remnants of human occupation were discovered in Penha Verde: these vestiges testify to an occupation dating to the early Paleolithic. Comparable remnants were discovered in an open-air site in São Pedro de Canaferrim, alongside the chapel of the Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle), dating back to the Neolithic, and include decorated ceramics and microlithic flint utensils from the 5th millennium BC. Ceramic fragments found locally including many late Chalcolithic vases from the Sintra mountains suggest that between the fourth and third millennia B.C. the region (adjacent to the present village of Sintra) was occupied by a Neolithic/Chalcolithic settlement, with characteristics comparable to fortified settlements in Lisbon and Setúbal. The design was a project of the Baron von Eschwege and Ferdinand II, to substitute the Sintra National Palace as an alternative to the summer residence in Cascais. After Sintra, the monarchs Louis of Portugal (1861–1889) and Carlos of Portugal (1863–1908) ended their summers with visits to Cascais in the months of September and October. In 1854, the first contract was signed to construct a rail link between Sintra and Lisbon. A decree signed on 26 June 1855 regulated the contract between the government and Count Claranges Lucotte but was later rescinded in 1861. The connection was finally inaugurated on 2 April 1887. By the beginning of the 20th century, Sintra was recognized as a summer resort visited by aristocrats and millionaires. Among these, Carvalho Monteiro, owner of a considerable fortune (known as "Monteiro dos Milhões) constructed near the main town, on an estate he bought from the Baroness of Regaleira, a luxurious revivalist palacette, based on a Neo-Manueline architecture. From the second half of the 19th…

Geography

The Sintra Mountains, a granite massif ten kilometres long – considered the Monte da Lua (Mountain of the Moon), or Promontorium Lunae by the strong local tradition of astral cults – emerge abruptly between a vast plain to the north and the northern margin of the Tagus River estuary, winding in a serpentine cordillera towards the Atlantic Ocean and Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of continental Europe. The São João platform, along the northern flank of the Sintra Mountains, has altitudes between and , while the southern part of the mountains, the Cascais platform, is lower: sloping from to the sea, terminating along the coast, around above sea level. The spectacular relief results from the east–west orientation of the massif's axis, its terminus at the coast, and the nature of igneous rocks, which are resistant to erosion. For different reasons (the climate here has been moderated by the Sintra Mountains; the fertility of the soils; and its relative proximity to the Tagus estuary) the region attracted considerable early settlement. Due to its micro-climate, a huge park has developed full of dense foliage with a rich botanical diversity. The temperate climate and humidity resulting from proximity to the coast favour the growth of a rich mat of forest including Atlantic and Mediterranean species, marking the transition in Portugal from northern to southern vegetation. The Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) predominates over great expanses of the rocky heights and sheltered slopes. On moist shady slopes, normally facing north, or in sheltered places, the common oak (Quercus robur) is widespread. In lowland areas and warm places the cork oak (Quercus suber) is common and in limestone areas the Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea) is found. Other species scattered…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  25,317
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,397
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  20,252
• Black Redstart

  Phoenicurus ochruros (S.G.Gmelin, 1774) · Aves
  17,201
• Spotless Starling

  Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1820 · Aves
  15,486
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  15,333
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,869
• European Serin

  Serinus serinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,698