History Archives - Estremoz Guide

In Explore

The standing stones at São Bento do Ameixial

March 8, 2024 No Comments

We have passed this church many, many times on our way home from Estremoz and this week our curiosity finally got the better of us. So we stopped off to take a closer look…

The Chapel of Our Lady of Conceição dos Olivais is located at around two kilometres from the centre of Estremoz, on the road to São Bento do Ameixial. Built in the latter part of the 16^th Century it sits on a slight hill surrounded by vineyards alongside the ancient ‘Pedra da Ronca’ dolmen – which loosely translates as ‘The Snoring Stone’…

In History

Attack on the Forte da Graça, Elvas

June 8, 2022 No Comments

One of the reasons we came to visit Portugal in the first place was to check out its numerous castles, so you can imagine our excitement when we found out that the nearby town of Elvas was holding a re-enactment of the attack on the town’s Forte da Graça by French troops.

In Days Out

Visit to the dolmen at Pavia, Alentejo

July 6, 2021 2 Comments

I own a copy of a lovely coffee table book called ‘As Mais Belas Vilas e Aldeias de Portugal’ (Portugal’s Most Beautiful Towns and Villages), which I bought way back in the 1980s—and even though I have moved country a couple of times in the interim, I still have the book with me.

One of the most intriguing places that always stood out for me was the village of Pavia, in the Alentejo, and it makes sense that it was one of the first places that I wanted to visit when we moved here in 2020.

In History

The Duke of Schomberg and English troops in Estremoz

February 12, 2021 No Comments

When we decided to move to Estremoz and make our home on the outskirts in a place called Ameixial, we had no idea that an important battle had been fought right on our doorstep. We were even more surprised to find out that the battle of 1663 was led by the Duke of Schomberg and included a couple of thousand English troops in Estremoz.

In History

Portugal promotes ‘Megalithic Route’

July 27, 2020 No Comments

It is no secret that Portugal’s Alentejo is full of historic places that in some cases date back to Neolithic times. It is a land that encompasses many secrets of humanity and this is what makes it such an important part of Portugal’s cultural heritage.

In History

Building blocks of the Roman Empire

May 8, 2020 No Comments

Portugal, or Lusitania as it was known at the time, was the western most province of the Roman world, with it’s capital very close by in Merida (just 80 kilometres across the border into Spain).

In History

Dolmens, Menhirs and Cromlechs – Portugal’s Megalithic Universe

April 30, 2020 No Comments

Early evidence of the first settlers in the Estremoz area dates back to Neolithic or Stone Age times. With over a thousand individual megaliths in the Evora and Estremoz region of the Alentejo alone* it is testament to an early civilisation having made their home here.

History

The standing stones at São Bento do Ameixial

Attack on the Forte da Graça, Elvas

Visit to the dolmen at Pavia, Alentejo

The Duke of Schomberg and English troops in Estremoz

Portugal promotes ‘Megalithic Route’

Building blocks of the Roman Empire

Dolmens, Menhirs and Cromlechs – Portugal’s Megalithic Universe

Road trip part 2: Viana do Alentejo

Road Trip: Valverde and Alcáçovas

The standing stones at São Bento do Ameixial

Restaurant A Talha, Estremoz