Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

of the larger

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of the same name and of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (OesteCIM, Intermunicipal Community of the West). At the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 51,729 in an area of , with 30,343 residing in the city. Although the city itself lies about inland, three of the municipality's civil parishes lie on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Caldas da Rainha is best known for its sulphurous

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s and

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

. The settlement was founded in the 15th century by Queen Leonor (Rainha Dona Leonor), who established a hospital and a church at the site of some therapeutic hot springs. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Spring Water Hospital, or Thermal Hospital) is the oldest purpose-built institution of its kind in the world, with five centuries of history. The city's name, often shortened to simply "Caldas", can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs", "Queen's Spa", or "Queen's Baths". Caldas da Rainha is a UNESCO Creative City. It is home to many cultural institutions. The city's nine

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

s cover art, history, and cycling. Cultural and sports venues include Centro Cultural e de Congressos (CCC, Cultural and Conference Centre), a centre for performing arts, exhibitions, and conferences; Expoeste – Centro de Exposições do Oeste (Exhibition Centre of the West), which hosts exhibitions and festivals; a

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...

; several

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

(soccer) pitches; and a multi-sport municipal complex. Caldas hosts six professional and higher-educational institutions, including a major arts and design school and a school devoted to ceramics. In 2014 Caldas da Rainha had the best public secondary school in Portugal based on national test scores.

History

Early years

Caldas da Rainha was part of the ancient region

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lu ...

, inhabited by

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

who took advantage of sulphurous waters sprouting in the region.

Barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

invasions destroyed most of the Roman-built baths. By the 13th century, the springs were known as "caldas de Óbidos", after the nearby town. At this time, a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

order looked after the needs of the poor and cared for the lepers and rheumatics, who sought the healing waters. With the disbandment of the order by the 15th century, the area fell into disrepair. Queen Leonor (Rainha Dona Leonor, in Portuguese), the wife of King João II, is credited as the founder of Caldas da Rainha. One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she happened upon a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. The queen stopped to inquire about this oddity, and the bathers told her that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them and was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of an unknown affliction that she had been suffering. On that site, the queen ordered a hospital built so that others could enjoy the same relief. Construction began the following year, and although the first patients were admitted in 1488, the works were not completed until about 1496 or 1497. To finance the hospital and its adjoining church, the queen sold her jewels and used income from her landholdings. The name of the settlement that grew around the site and became Caldas da Rainha refers to both its founder and the reason for its existence. The city's name can be translated as "Queen's Hot Springs", "Queen's Spa", or "Queen's Baths". The settlement's waters remain its major claim to fame. On 21 March 1511, King Manuel I, brother of Queen Leonor, conferred the status of town ('' vila'') upon Caldas da Rainha. In 1821, it was made a

( ''concelho'' or ''município'').

Twentieth century

In 1901 and 1902, Caldas da Rainha welcomed 350

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

men, women, and children who sought refuge from the ravages of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

in their South African homeland. Initially housed in the thermal hospital, the refugees were transferred to the park pavilions at the onset of the bathing season. Some rented rooms in town, marveling at the low rates. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, in which Portugal joined the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, Caldas had one of three

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

camps in the country. In 1916, most Germans in Portugal were deported, but men aged 15–45 were imprisoned to prevent their joining the German military. Originally, all of the approximately 700 prisoners were shipped to

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the B ...

, on

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, where they were held at the Fortress of São João Baptista. In 1918, to reduce overcrowding at the fortress, 168 internees were moved to Caldas, where they stayed in military barracks located at the Parque D. Carlos I (Pavilhões do Parque). The prisoners were released the following year, after the end of the war. On 26 April 1919,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

João do Canto e Castro João do Canto e Castro da Silva Antunes (19 May 1862, in Lisbon – 14 March 1934, in Lisbon), commonly known simply as João do Canto e Castro was a Portuguese Navy officer and the fifth president of Portugal during the First Portuguese Republ ...

granted the town the title of Dame of the Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit (Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito). Unlike other places similarly honoured, Caldas did not add the honour's collar to its coat of arms. The town was elevated to the status of

('' cidade'') in August 1927. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in which Portugal remained neutral, hundreds of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s came to Caldas da Rainha to escape

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. Caldas also served as home to British and American

airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, ...

who landed or crashed in Portugal or off its coast. In January 1943, 230 Britons resident in Axis power

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

were evacuated to Caldas, where they were expected to stay until the end of the war. Most of these evacuees were over 65 years of age and had resided in Italy for a long time. In a prelude to the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

, in the early morning of 16 March 1974, the Fifth Infantry Regiment (Regimento de Infantaria 5), based in Caldas da Rainha in what is now the School of Army Sergeants (Escola de Sargentos do Exército), attempted to stage a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against the country's

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

Estado Novo regime. Thirty officers and about 300 sergeants and enlisted men from the regiment left their quarters at 4:00 a.m., heading for

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, where they planned to occupy the airport. On approaching the capital, the Caldas regiment found themselves alone, realizing that the other units supposed to participate in the coup had not joined the upheaval. The regiment turned back and reached their Caldas quarters at around 10:00 a.m., locking themselves in and awaiting a siege. The compound was surrounded by various forces, which penetrated the base at about 5:00 p.m. The revolters were arrested and sent to various military prisons, where they were held until the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, 40 days later.

Symbols

Caldas da Rainha's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted by Queen Leonor, before municipal coats of arms were typically used in Portugal. The centre of the city's arms consist of the queen's personal arms, flanked on the right by a

shrimping The shrimp fishery is a major global industry, with more than 3.4 million tons caught per year, chiefly in Asia. Rates of bycatch are unusually high for shrimp fishing, with the capture of sea turtles being especially contentious. A shrimper is ...

net, to commemorate the fishermen who rescued her drowning son Prince Afonso, and on the left a

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

feeding its young, a symbol of her husband, King João II. Because of its early introduction, several elements of the arms violate Portuguese

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

standards. The municipal flag consists of the coat of arms on a purple and yellow

gyronny In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Blazoning of French adjectives Variations of the field p ...

. The municipality adopted a logo for marketing purposes, to project an image of "relevant historical tradition", "current dynamism", and "enormous potential in culture, economy, commerce, and tourism". The logo shows a stylised outline of Queen Leonor's crowned head in blue tones, representing the city's historical connection with water. Below the queen's image, the municipality's name appears in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...

in Eras Light. Below this " Câmara Municipal" is written in

Gill Sans Gill Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype from 1928 onwards. Gill Sans is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Underground Alphabet", the corporate font of London Undergro ...

Geography

Caldas da Rainha, often shortened to just "Caldas", is located in western central

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

at . The city lies approximately

as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver ...

, or by the A8 motorway, north of the Portuguese capital,

. Although three of the municipality's civil parishes—

Foz do Arelho Foz do Arelho is one of twelve civil parishes (''freguesias'') in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district ...

, Salir do Porto, and Serra do Bouro—lie on the

, the city proper lies about from the ocean via the N360 road to Foz do Arelho. The municipality of Caldas da Rainha comprises an area of . The municipality extends north to south and east to west. The perimeter measures . At its lowest point, the municipality lies at

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

, and its highest point reaches . The municipality is bordered to the north by Alcobaça, to the east by Rio Maior, and to the south by

Bombarral Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services. History It is known that the area of ...

Cadaval Cadaval () is a municipality in the Oeste region and Lisbon District of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,228,Óbidos. Caldas da Rainha is the

of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (OesteCIM, Intermunicipal Community of the West). For statistical purposes, Caldas is in the NUTS III Oeste (West) subregion— coterminous with OesteCIM—within the NUTS II

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil *Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...

(Centre) region, which is part of the NUTS I division called

Continente Continente is a retail chain that belongs to Sonae Distribuição, the largest retailer in Portugal. The hypermarket Continente chain is in spread all over continental Portugal as well on Madeira and in the Azores. The supermarket chain Continen ...

(Continental, or Mainland, Portugal). The municipality is part of the Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional de

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (; en, Lisbon and Tagus Valley) was one of the five regions of Portugal ( NUTS II subdivisions). Today two of the subregions are in the new Lisboa Region, two in the Centro Region and one in the Alentejo Region. The regio ...

(CCDR LVT, Regional Commission for Coordination and Development of Lisbon and

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

Valley). Caldas da Rainha belongs to the historical province of Estremadura and to the district of Leiria. In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Caldas da Rainha belongs to the Caldas da Rainha - Peniche

vicariate A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Along with the rest of Continental Portugal, Caldas da Rainha is in the Western European

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...

( UTC±00:00), observing

Western European Summer Time Western European Summer Time (WEST, UTC+01:00) is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in: * the Canary Islands * Portugal (including Madeira but not the Azores ...

( UTC+01:00) from late March to late October. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...

for Caldas da Rainha is 2500, and its telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, r ...

is 262.

''Freguesias'' (Civil Parishes)

Caldas da Rainha has 12 ''

freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

'' ( civil parishes). Before 29 January 2013, Caldas had 16 civil parishes. On that date, a law came into effect causing the number of civil parishes throughout the country to be reduced. Seven of the municipality's civil parishes were combined into three new "unions of civil parishes" (''uniões de freguesias'', singular: ''união de freguesias''). Nine civil parishes remained unchanged, except for minor border adjustments to ensure the contiguity of the new unions. Before the 2013 administrative reorganisation, the seven aggregated civil parishes had the following populations and areas, based on the 2011 census: According to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (National Institute of Statistics, or Statistics Portugal), the city of Caldas da Rainha contains the entirety of Santo Onofre, most of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo (excluding the settlements of Lagoa Parceira, Imaginário, and Casal do Tanqueirão) and the southernmost portion of Tornada, but the municipal assembly does not accept any portion of Tornada as part of the city. Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and Santo Onofre are separated by the

Linha do Oeste Linha do Oeste (Western Line) is a railway line serving the central western coast of Portugal belonging to Infraestruturas de Portugal network. The line was opened in 1887. Passenger services are operated by CP. The line is used also by f ...

(Western Line)

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

line, as specified in the 1984 law (effective 1 January 1985) that carved Santo Onofre out of the civil parish that was called Caldas da Rainha at that time.

Neighbourhoods

The city of Caldas da Rainha has several named neighbourhoods (''

bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese word for a quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and other Portuguese-speaking places. ''Bairro'' ...

s''). Centro (City Centre), in the middle of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, is the heart of the city. Most of Caldas da Rainha's shops, eateries, businesses, services, government, and transportation are concentrated here. Public squares in the city centre include Praça da República (Republic Square) and Praça 5 de Outubro (5 October Square). Zona Histórica (Historic Zone), in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo adjacent to the city centre, is the oldest part of the city. The neighbourhood includes the thermal hospital, Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo (Church of Our Lady of the Populace), and Parque D. Carlos I (King Charles I Park). Bairro Azul (Blue Neighbourhood), west of the city centre in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, was named for its many blue-tiled buildings. The neighbourhood is home the city's

silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is use ...

s, formerly used for storing grain, now a centre for innovative

start-ups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...

. Bairro Azul has several shops, restaurants, drinking establishments, and services. Bairro Avenal, south of Parque D. Carlos I in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, is a residential area that includes some

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s. The neighbourhood is home to the ceramics museum and the multi-museum arts centre. Avenal contains some eating and drinking establishments. Bairro da Encosta do Sol (Sun Hill Neighbourhood), east of the city centre in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, is a residential area with a few businesses. The hospital lies at the edge of the neighbourhood. Bairro Além da Ponte (Beyond the Bridge Neighbourhood; commonly called Bairro da Ponte, or Bridge's Neighbourhood), in the centre of Santo Onofre, lies west of the railroad tracks that divide the city's two civil parishes. The neighbourhood developed during the late 19th century and was home to many of the city's ceramics workers. Bairro Cidade Nova (New City Neighbourhood), in the northern area of Santo Onofre, while mostly residential, is home to Expoeste, the largest exhibition centre in Caldas da Rainha. The neighbourhood is home to a few businesses. Bairro das Morenas (Morenas Neighbourhood, literally "brunettes" or "dark-skinned"), in the southern area of Santo Onofre, was originally built for

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, but now includes other homes. Bairro dos Arneiros (Arneiros Neighbourhood, literally "sandy area"), in the western part of Santo Onofre, started out as a social

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

comprising 96

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

, spread among six four-storey buildings, with four flats per floor. The edifices, built in two phases in 1998 and 1990, are predominantly white, each with a different colour trim. The neighbourhood has grown beyond the initial development and now has numerous businesses.

Climate

Caldas da Rainha has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Köppen: ''Csb''), with warm dry summers and mild rainy winters.

Demographics

Between the 2001 and the 2011

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

es, the population of the municipality increased 5.90% from 48,846 residents to 51,729. Females made up 52.63% of the population, and males accounted for 47.37%. The population density was . The 2011 census found that the municipality contained 20,598 families, with an average of 2.5 people per family. The municipality had 19,202 buildings and 31,063 dwellings. The population of the statistical city grew from 25,316 residents in 2001 to 27,378 in 2011, an increase of 8.1%. A resident of Caldas da Rainha is a ''caldense'' (plural: ''caldenses'').

Government

The

Câmara Municipal Câmara (meaning "chamber") is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It may also refer to: People * António de Vasconcelos e Sousa Câmara Caminha Faro e Veiga, 8th Count of Calheta, 4th Marquis of Castelo Melhor and Constable of Portuga ...

(city council, literally "municipal chamber") is the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

body of municipal government. The council is led by a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

(''presidente da câmara municipal'', the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

) and has six other members (''vereadores'', or councilors), as required by Portuguese law based on the number of registered voters in the municipality. Fernando Manuel Tinta Ferreira ( PSD) serves as president of the council, and Hugo Patrício Martinho de Oliveira (PSD) serves as vice president. The other members are: Maria da Conceição Jardim Pereira (PSD), Alberto Pereira (PSD), Jorge Sobral ( PS), Rui Correia (PS), and Manuel Isaac ( CDS–PP). Fernando José da Costa, the prior mayor, now serves as a member of the city council of Loures, a suburb of

. The

Assembleia Municipal An ''Assembleia Municipal'' (; "municipal assembly"; plural: ''assembleias municipais'') is the legislature that governs a municipality in Portugal. Part of the assembly's members are elected every four years among candidate lists by the D'Hondt me ...

(municipal assembly) is the

deliberative Deliberative rhetoric (Greek: ''genos'' ''symbouleutikon;'' Latin: ''genus deliberativum,'' sometimes called legislative oratory) is one of the three kinds of rhetoric described by Aristotle. Deliberative rhetoric juxtaposes potential future outcome ...

body of municipal government. The assembly has 33 members. The presidents of each of the 12 '' juntas de freguesia'' (civil parish councils) serve on the assembly. Directly elected members of the assembly number 21, triple the number of members on the city council, the minimum required by Portuguese law. Luís Manuel Pereira Monteiro Ribeiro is president of the assembly. Vasco da Cruz Antunes de Oliveira serves as the first secretary, and Maria João dos Santos Ribeiro Querido serves as the second secretary. In addition to the ''junta de freguesia'' as its executive body, each civil parish has an '' assembleia de freguesia'' (civil parish assembly) as its deliberative body. Each body is led by a president, the ''presidente da junta de freguesia'' and the ''presidente da assembleia de freguesia'', respectively. Caldas da Rainha is twinned with the following places: *

Poços de Caldas Poços de Caldas is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2020 was 168,641 inhabitants. The city is known for its hot springs. History Poços was founded in 1 ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

, Brazil, since 2001 *

Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cens ...

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, since 1 May 2007 The municipality has intentions of twinning with the following places: * Cambo-les-Bains, France *

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populati ...

, Spain * Coria, Spain *

Dinant Dinant () is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south-east of Charleroi and south of the city of Namur. Dinant is situ ...

, Belgium * Le Raincy, France *

Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola a ...

, Angola *

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

, United States *

Ribeira Grande Ribeira Grande may refer to the following places: Cape Verde *Ribeira Grande (stream), a stream on the island of Santo Antão *Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde, a town on the island of Santo Antão *Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde (municipality), a municipali ...

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Economy

Commerce

Caldas da Rainha has about 600 commercial establishments and calls itself ''Capital do Comércio Tradicional'' (capital of traditional commerce). The city's

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

(''centro'') shopping area contains shops specializing in clothing, jewellery, beauty supplies, decoration, housewares, and other goods. The main shopping streets include Rua dos Heróis da Grande Guerra, Rua Almirante Cândido dos Reis (popularly known as ''Rua das Montras'', Street of Storefronts), Rua Doutor Miguel Bombarda, Rua da Liberdade, and surrounding streets. Praça da Republica (Republic Square), popularly known as Praça da Fruta (Fruit Square), hosts an outdoor

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

every morning. A weekly market selling cheap clothing and domestic items is held on Mondays uphill from the square. Several small indoor shopping centres, most with only a few shops, exist throughout the city. The Associação Comercial dos Concelhos das Caldas da Rainha e Óbidos (ACCCRO, Commercial Association of the Municipalities of Caldas da Rainha and Óbidos), founded in 1902, promotes and supports commercial and service businesses in Caldas da Rainha and neighboring Óbidos. Several international chains have locations in Caldas da Rainha, including Benetton,

Bershka Bershka () is a clothing retailer company created in 1998 in Spain. It is part of the Spanish Inditex group (which also owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and Zara Home). The company was created in ...

Claire's Claire's (formerly known as Claire's Boutiques, Claire's Boutique and Claire's Accessories) is an American retailer of accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed toward tween and teen girls. It was founded in 1961 and is based in Hoffman E ...

, Kiddy's Class,

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant ch ...

, Oysho, Pull and Bear, Staples,

Leroy Merlin Leroy Merlin () is a French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Leroy Merlin is owned by the Mulliez family, which also owns Auchan. History In 1923, A ...

, and

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...

. Caldas has several

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

s and

hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, includin ...

s, including

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

, Continente Modelo, E.Leclerc,

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...

(two locations), Continente Bom Dia, Meu Super, Minipreço (two locations), Pão de Açúcar, Pingo Doce (three locations), and

Intermarché Intermarché (English translation: Intermarket) is the brand of a general commercial French supermarket, part of the large retail group Les Mousquetaires founded in 1969 under the name EX Offices, by Jean-Pierre Le Roch. EX Offices was renamed I ...

. Vivaci Caldas da Rainha, opened in November 2008 next to the rebuilt Hotel Lisbonense, is the first large

shopping centre A shopping center ( American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

in Caldas. Vivaci's four floors contain sixty stores and services, including fourteen

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s, a five-screen

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

, and a supermarket. The CaldasShopping building, opened in December 2008 at the intersection of Rua Dr. Miguel Bombarda and Rua Raul Proença, has space for about forty shops, indoor and outdoor esplanades seating 200 to 250, offices, and thirteen apartments. The Centro Bordalo shopping centre—to be built across the street from and connected by a pedestrian bridge to the existing Continente Modelo hypermarket—was originally scheduled to open in 2010 with 95 stores and 1,100 parking spaces. Developer Sonae Sierra planned to invest 56 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s in the centre, but the

financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

caused postponement of the project.

Statistics

Caldas da Rainha has ten

lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shelt ...

establishments, six of which are

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s (one 4-

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, three 3-star, and two 2-star), and four of which are

guest house A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...

s (''pensões''). Lodging capacity totals 948, with 790 in the hotels and 158 at the guest houses. In 2012, there were 25

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s in the municipality. Average monthly earnings in the municipality is

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

894.81 according to 2011 data. Nova Serviços, with 1,504 employees, is the largest employer in Caldas and the second largest in the district of Leiria. Schaeffler Portugal, with 387 employees, is the second largest employer in Caldas and tenth largest in the district. Caldas counts three firms among the district's top fifty exporters: Schaeffler Portugal (5th), Promol (22nd), and Sotrapex (24th). Based on 2018 sales volume, the top 20 business firms in Caldas da Rainha are:

Arts and culture

Centro Cultural e de Congressos Caldas da Rainha

In 2019,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

added Caldas da Rainha to its

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

s and

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

Institutions

The Centro Cultural e de Congressos (CCC, Cultural and Conference Centre), inaugurated on 15 May 2008 by

Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, Order of Christ (Portugal), GCC, Order of Liberty, GColL, Order of Prince Henry, GColIH (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist who served as the 19th president of Portugal, in office from 9 March 2006 to 9 ...

and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Fernando José da Costa, is a cultural, performing arts, and conference centre that hosts music, theatre, dance, and cinema, as well as various expositions (expos) and conferences. Expoeste - Centro de Exposições do Oeste (Exhibition Centre of the West), is an indoor event space. The centre hosts various events, including bridal expos, seasonal festivals, fruit expos, car shows, and animal shows. During the annual Expotur - Festa de Verão (Summer Party), popularly called "tasquinhas", which takes place over the span of about week and a half at the beginning of August, food from each of the civil parishes is available for purchase and on-site consumption. Caldas da Rainha has nine

s, covering

ceramic art Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. ...

, painting,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

, local history, and

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

. The Centro de Artes (Arts Centre), a multi-building complex hosts three museums of sculpture: the Museu-Atelier António Duarte, the Museu-Atelier João Fragoso, and the Museu Barata Feyo. The arts centre contains the Pavilhão de Ateliers (Studios Pavilion)—providing workspace and residence for active artists—and O Espaço da Concas, exhibiting the paintings of Maria da Conceição Nunes, known as Concas. The Arts Centre hosts the biennial SIMPPETRA–International Stone Sculpture Symposium, with the resulting works being permanently displayed outdoors throughout the municipality. The Museu de Cerâmica (Museum of Ceramics), in an old manor house, exhibits

pieces from Caldas, from throughout Portugal, and from international sources. Casa Museu de São Rafael concentrates on the ceramic creations of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro's factory. The Museu do Hospital e das Caldas (Museum of the Hospital and of Caldas), installed in the Caza Real (royal house) where Queen Leonor stayed during her visits to Caldas, features exhibits related to the thermal hospital and the city. The Museu de José Malhoa, in the middle of Parque D. Carlos I, displays paintings by the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

artist and his contemporaries, as well as sculptures and ceramics. The museum building was declared a property of public interest (''imóvel de interesse público'', IIP) in 2002. The Museu do Ciclismo (Museum of Cycling), opened in 1999 and sited in an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

building on Rua de Camões across from Parque D. Carlos I, contains exhibits on the history of cycling and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

Traditions

Caldas da Rainha is well known for its glazed ceramic

(''louça das Caldas''). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' has called Caldas " e capital of Portuguese pottery". The city is at "the center of a region rich in clay", where pottery has been made since the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

Era. Caldas gained fame for its ceramic wares when Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and his brother Feliciano founded their Fábrica de Faianças, now called Faianças Artísticas Bordallo Pinheiro. The factory's output includes large decorative pieces;

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of o ...

shaped like fruits, vegetables, and animals; and

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

s of Zé Povinho, a bearded peasant

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

character. Caldas has a tradition of ceramic

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precise ...

es dating to the late 19th century. Caldas has a tradition of

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

(''bordado'') possibly dating to the 15th century. Legend has it that Queen Leonor's handmaidens, seeing the monarch without her usual brilliance after selling off her jewellery, embroidered her cloak so that it appeared to have golden threads. Caldas embroidery is almost always made with three shades of

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

brown thread on white

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

, and on rare occasion with white thread on brown linen. Known for its

symmetry Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

, the craft's common themes include

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegar ...

s, spirals, angles, birds, hearts, crowns, and shrimp nets. Caldas has several traditional sweets. ''Cavacas das Caldas'' are a small-bowl-sized,

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex * Concave set In geometry, a subset o ...

confection of flour and eggs, with a crunchy sugar covering. In June 2005, a pyramid containing 48,900 ''cavacas'' was erected on Praça 25 de Abril in front of the city hall. ''Beijinhos das Caldas'' ("little kisses") are similar, but are smaller and spherical. Other local sweets include ''trouxas de ovos'' (poached eggs), ''lampreias de ovos'' (egg

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

s), and ''pão-de-ló do Landal'' (

Landal Landal is one of twelve civil parishes (''freguesias'') in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Le ...

sponge cake). Savory dishes typical of Caldas include ''ensopado de enguias da lagoa'' (stewed lagoon eels), ''bacalhau à lagareiro'' ( cod in

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

), ''polvo à lagareiro'' (

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

in olive oil), and ''fatias de carne frita à moda do Landal'' (Landal-style sliced fried meat).

Attractions

City

Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo is a church in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. It is classified as a National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as ...

(Church of Our Lady of the Populace), adjacent to the thermal hospital, is a late

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church with

Mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for M ...

and Manueline characteristics. It serves as the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

(''igreja matriz'') of Caldas. It was built 1500 by order of Queen Leonor and designed by Mateus Fernandes. The church was declared a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

(''monumento nacional'') in 1910. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Church of Our Lady of the Conception) is a 20th-century church located on Praça 25 de Abril, near the city hall and the courthouse, and surrounded on three sides by Hemiciclo João Paulo II (

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Semicircle). The Cardinal–Patriarch of Lisbon broke ground on 20 August 1950, and the church was inaugurated on 21 October 1951. Ermida de São Sebastião ( Hermitage of

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...

) is a

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

and

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

16th-century

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

located just off Praça da República. An 18th-century reconstruction added tiles about depicting the life of the chapel's namesake saint. The chapel was declared a property of public interest (''imóvel de interesse público'', IIP) in 1984. Ermida do Espírito Santo (Hermitage of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

) is a mannerist and baroque chapel located on Largo João de Deus, uphill from the thermal hospital. Originally built in the 16th century, the hermitage was rebuilt in the 18th century. The chapel was declared a property of public interest in 1984. Praça da República (Republic Square) is a public square in the centre of town. The

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

, popularly known as Praça da Fruta (Fruit Square), hosts Portugal's only daily outdoor

. The square is surrounded by buildings, most containing shops, banks, and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...

s on the ground floor. Built 1747–1750 on the northern side of the square, the baroque former

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(''paços do concelho''), now used by the '' junta de freguesia'' (civil parish council) of the União das Freguesias de Caldas da Rainha — Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, Coto e São Gregório, was declared a property of public interest in 1984. Praça 5 de Outubro (5 October Square), also known as Antiga Praça do Peixe (Old Fish Square), formerly hosted the city's open-air fish market, which has since moved to an indoor location (''Mercado do Peixe''). The plaza is now used for outdoor café seating and free cultural events. A statue of Queen Leonor stands in the middle of the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

at Largo Conde de Fontalva (Count of Fontalva Square), popularly called Largo da Rainha (Queen's Square). The Parque D. Carlos I is a large

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

in the centre of town. The park contains a

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

-shaped

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

with a small island in the middle. Visitors can rent rowboats on the lake. The José Malhoa Museum sits in the middle of the park. The Jardim da Água (Water Garden) is a large-scale outdoor sculpture combining concrete, ceramic tiles, and water. Caldas has three mid-18th-century baroque fountains which were declared properties of public interest in 1982: Chafariz da Estrada da Foz (Fountain of Foz do Arelho Road), Chafariz da Rua Nova (Fountain of the New Street), and Chafariz das Cinco Bicas (Fountain of the Five Spouts).

Rural civil parishes

The civil parish of

has a beach on the

, from the centre of town. The Lagoa de Óbidos, which straddles the border with the municipality of Óbidos, is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

that empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Foz do Arelho. The ocean beach and the lagoon beach have each been awarded a Blue Flag by the

Foundation for Environmental Education The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education. FEE is active through five programmes; Blue Flag, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters f ...

. The civil parish of Salir do Porto has a beach on River of Tornada which empties into the Bay of São Martinho off the Atlantic Ocean. The Reserva Natural Local do Paul de Tornada (Tornada

Swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

Local

Natural Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

) is a protected

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

area. The Estação da Mala-Posta do Casal dos Carreiros (

mail coach A mail coach is a stagecoach that is used to deliver mail. In Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, they were built to a General Post Office-approved design operated by an independent contractor to carry long-distance mail for the Post Office. M ...

station of Casal dos Carreiros), built in the 19th century in the civil parish of A dos Francos, was declared a property of public interest in 1977. The Pelourinho de Santa Catarina (

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the sto ...

of Saint Catherine) in the civil parish of Santa Catarina, constructed in the 16th century, was declared a property of public interest in 1933. Capela de São Jacinto (Chapel of Saint Hyacinth), located in Casais de São Jacinto in the civil parish of Coto, was originally built in the 16th century and reconstructed in baroque style in the 18th century. The chapel was declared a property of public interest in 2009.

Transport

Public transport

Caldas da Rainha has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

served by the

(western line) of Comboios de Portugal. Regional trains, which make frequent local stops, run south to

, to its suburbs, or to

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I took ...

, and north to

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own dist ...

. Interregional trains, which make select stops, run north to

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

via

. Salir do Porto, a civil parish on the Atlantic Ocean, is the next station north of Caldas and the only other active train stop in the municipality. Former train stops in the municipality are Campo–Serra and Bouro. Caldas da Rainha has a

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

(''terminal rodoviário'') located in the city centre. Rede Nacional de Expressos provides express bus service to various destinations within Portugal. Rodoviária do Tejo (also known as Rodotejo) provides interurban services to the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets near and around Caldas. Rodotejo also provides three ''Rápida'' (literally "rapid", express-like, limited-stop) services from Caldas, serving

Campo Grande Campo Grande (, ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the Center-West region of the country. The city is nicknamed ''Cidade Morena'' ("Swarthy City" in Portuguese) because of the reddish-brown colour o ...

, Óbidos, and

(''Rápida Verde'', Green Rapid); Leiria, São Martinho do Porto, and Nazaré (''Rápida Rosa'', Pink Rapid); and Santarém and Rio Maior (''Rápida Caldas da Rainha–Santarém''). The Caldas-based operations of Rodotejo became a separate company called RDO - Rodoviária do Oeste, Lda on 1 July 2015. On 15 May 2007, the municipal holiday, the city council inaugurated local bus service called TOMA. The name means "take this" in Portuguese and commemorates everyman figure Zé Povinho, whose image appears on the buses. TOMA service consists of three routes: ''Linha Azul'' (Blue Line), ''Linha Laranja'' (Orange Line), and ''Linha Verde'' (Green Line). The Blue line uses two minibuses and runs between the western and eastern ends of town. The Orange and Green lines each operate using a single twenty-nine-seat minibus on loop routes. "Projecto Tornada" seeks to improve bus services along the busy N8 road in Tornada, the civil parish just north of the city. The municipal government, in coordination with Rodoviário do Tejo and Rocaldas - Empresa de Transportes Auto Penafiel, has undertaken to distribute a combined schedule of services and to improve bus stops. Rede RoCaldas is an initiative to join intra-municipal bus service outside the city proper under a single banner and pricing scheme. Introduced in September 2013, Rede RoCaldas combines all services of Rocaldas - Empresa de Transportes Auto Penafiel with the short-haul services of Rodotejo. Rocaldas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rodotejo, operating as a separate brand. The combined service promises various benefits, including use of the Rodotejo's central bus terminal, restructuring city-centre bus stops, more frequent service, and streamlined ticketing.

Roads

Caldas da Rainha is served by an extensive network of roads. Two

motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

('' autoestradas''), operated by Auto-Estradas do Atlântico, serve the municipality. The A8 motorway, also known as Autoestrada do Oeste, goes south to Óbidos,

, Loures, and

, and north to Nazaré, Alcobaça,

Marinha Grande Marinha Grande () is a municipality in the Leiria District, Portugal. The population in 2021 was 39,032, in an area of 187.25 km². The city itself has a population of 32,330. It is located right in the middle of the 700-year-old Leiria pine ...

, and

. The A15 motorway goes east to Santarém via Rio Maior. The IP6 road is a main route ('' itinerário principal'') connecting to Peniche, Rio Maior, Santarém, Torres Novas,

Abrantes Abrantes () is a municipality in the central Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus River, which runs through the middle of the municipalit ...

, and Castelo Branco. For much of its route, IP6 runs concurrent with various motorways, including the entire length of A15 and the portion of A8 in Óbidos. The IC1 road is a secondary route ('' itinerário complementar'') which runs the length of the country from Valença in the north to

Guia (Albufeira) Guia is a town and civil parish in the Portuguese municipality of Albufeira in the Algarve, from the coast. The population in 2011 was 4,376, in an area of 26.80 km². History Oral tradition suggest that the name came from the erection of ...

in the south via

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

and Lisbon. North of Lisbon, IC1 runs concurrent with various motorways, including almost the entire length of A8. Several national roads ('' estradas nacionais''), which are older and not as well-maintained as motorways and main routes, serve the municipality. The N8 road (EN 8), the municipality's main roadway before the A8 motorway was built, crosses the municipality from north to south through the city centre, connecting with Alcobaça to the north and with Óbidos, Bombarral, Torres Vedras, and Loures—a suburb of Lisbon—to the south. The N114 road (EN 114), in the centre and southeast of the municipality, goes to Peniche, Rio Maior and Santarém. The N114-1 road (EN 114-1), in the centre and east of the municipality, connects the city centre to N114. The N115 road (EN 115), along the south and southwest border of the municipality, goes south to Loures. The N360 road (EN 360) crosses the municipality southwest to northeast through the city, connecting

to Benedita in

Alcobaça Municipality Alcobaça may refer to: In Brazil * Alcobaça, Bahia In Portugal * Alcobaça, Portugal ** Alcobaça Municipality ** Alcobaça Monastery The Alcobaça Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro de Alcobaça, ''Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça'') is a Catholic ...

. The N361 road (EN 361), in the southwest of the municipality, connects

Lourinhã Lourinhã () is a municipality in the District of Lisbon, in the Oeste Subregion of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,735, in an area of 147.17 km². The seat of the municipality is the town of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inha ...

and Rio Maior. Avenida Atlântica (or Variante Atlântica), which has no numerical designation, connects the western end of city to the beach at Foz do Arelho, and serves as an alternate route in lieu of N360.

Education

Caldas da Rainha is home to many

educational institutions An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...

. During the 2012–2013

school year A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, 10,882 students were enrolled in schools of various levels, from

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

Compulsory education

As in the rest of Portugal, compulsory public education consists of

basic education According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), basic education comprises the two stages primary education and lower secondary education. Universal basic education Basic education featured heavily in the 1997 ISCED ...

(''ensino básico'') taught in "basic" schools (''escolas básicas'') and of

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

(''ensino secundário'') taught in secondary schools (''escolas secundárias''). Basic education is divided into three "cycles" (''ciclos''): the first cycle (''primeiro °ciclo'') for years one though four, the

second cycle The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

(''segundo °ciclo'') for years five and six, and the third cycle (''terceiro °ciclo'') for years seven through nine. Secondary schools teach years ten through twelve. Caldas da Rainha has two public secondary schools, both of which also include the third cycle of basic education. The Escola Secundária com Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Secondary School with Third Cycle of Basic Education) is in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, and the Escola Secundária com 3º CEB Raul Proença (Raul Proença Secondary School with Third Cycle of Basic Education) is in the neighbourhood of Bairro do Arneiros in Santo Onofre. The Raul Proença school ranked as the best public secondary school in the country in 2014. The municipality has three public schools which offer the second and third cycles of basic education without including secondary education. The Escola Básica 2, 3 D. João II (King John II Second- and Third-Cycle Basic School), in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, offers classes to second- and third-cycle students only. The Escola Básica Integrada Santo Onofre (Santo Onofre Integrated Basic School), in the neighbourhood of Bairro das Morenas, offers all three cycles of basic education. The Escola Básica Integrada de Santa Catarina ( Santa Catarina Integrated Basic School) offers all three cycles of basic education, as well as kindergarten. There are 27 public schools for the first cycle of basic education throughout the municipality. The municipality has 28 public

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

s ('' jardims de infância''). Several private schools offer kindergarten and first-cycle classes. Colégio Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

), in Santo Onofre, offers private first-cycle basic education. For years five through twelve, the school offers privately managed public education. Colégio Frei Cristóvão (Friar Christopher College) offers privately managed public education in years five through nine in A dos Francos.

Higher, professional, and other education

The Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Caldas da Rainha (ESAD.CR, Upper School of Arts and Design), founded in 1990, is a division of the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (IPL, Polytechnic Institute of

). ESAD.CR offers courses in

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and ...

, ambient design,

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

and

glass Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...

design, graphic and

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

design,

product design Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of ...

, typographic design,

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensio ...

, and cultural management. Former institutions of higher learning in Caldas include a campus of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (UAL, Autonomous University of Lisbon) and a branch of the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia (ESB, Upper School of

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

) of the

Universidade Católica Portuguesa The Catholic University of Portugal (Portuguese: ''Universidade Católica Portuguesa'', pronounced nivɨɾsiˈðad(ɨ) kɐˈtɔlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ, also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is a concordat university (non-state-run univers ...

(UCP, Catholic University of Portugal) from 1999 to 2011. Caldas da Rainha has five institutions offering

professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

and

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

. The Escola Técnica Empresarial do Oeste (ETEO, Technical Business School of the West) offers courses in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

. The Centro de Formação Profissional Para a Indústria Cerâmica (CENCAL, Vocational Training Centre for the Ceramics Industry) offers training related to the

s industry. The Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria Metalúrgica e Metalomecânica (CENFIM, Vocational Training Centre of Metallurgical and Metalworking Industry) offers courses in

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

and

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

. The Escola de Sargentos do Exército (ESE, School of Army Sergeants) trains

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

s for the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With it ...

. The Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo do Oeste-Caldas da Rainha (EHTO, School of Hospitality and Tourism of the West) offers training in

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. The Centro de Educação Especial Rainha Dona Leonor (CEERDL, Queen Leonor Special Education Centre) offers

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

. The Conservatório Caldas da Rainha (CCR, Conservatory of Caldas da Rainha) is a conservatory of music. The Escola Vocacional de Dança "Os Pimpões" ("Os Pimpões" Vocational School of Dance) offers training in dance.

Health and safety

Caldas da Rainha is home to the Hospital Distrital Caldas da Rainha (Caldas da Rainha District Hospital), which is managed by the multi-city Centro Hospitalar do Oeste (CHO, Hospital Centre of the West). The hospital serves all general

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

needs of residents in all civil parishes of

, Caldas da Rainha, and Óbidos, plus parts of Alcobaça; paediatric emergencies for the aforementioned municipalities, plus Peniche; and

obstetric Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a ...

and

gynecological Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined a ...

emergency needs for the aforementioned municipalities, plus

Cadaval Cadaval () is a municipality in the Oeste region and Lisbon District of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,228,Lourinhã Lourinhã () is a municipality in the District of Lisbon, in the Oeste Subregion of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,735, in an area of 147.17 km². The seat of the municipality is the town of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inha ...

Mafra Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Republi ...

, and

. In 2012, the municipality had 326 inhabitants per

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Spring Water Hospital, or Thermal Hospital), a medical spa offering physician-prescribed treatment in sulphurous waters, is managed by . The hospital is the world's oldest purpose-built thermal medical institution. Among the non-medical holdings of the Centro Hospitlar–legacies of Queen Leonor–are the Museu do Hospital e das Caldas (Museum of the Hospital and Spa); the

and Igreja de São Sebastião, churches; Parque D. Carlos I, a public park; and Mata Rainha D. Leonor, woods adjacent to the park. In 1512, Queen Leonor established the Santa Casa da Misericórdia das Caldas da Rainha (Holy House of Mercy), a charitable institution dedicated to helping those in need. Having expanded to other cities, the Holy House continues its work to the present day. Caldas da Rainha is served by a

health centre A healthcare center, health center, or community health center is one of a network of clinics staffed by a group of general practitioners and nurses providing healthcare services to people in a certain area. Typical services covered are family pr ...

, Centro de Saúde Caldas da Rainha, which offers

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and non-urgent care. In addition to several units co-located with the main health centre, there are extensions located in the outlying civil parishes of A dos Francos, Alvorninha,

, Santa Catarina, Tornada, and

Vidais Vidais is one of twelve civil parishes (''freguesias'') in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiri ...

. The municipality has fifteen

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

. Seven are found in the city, and each of the following civil parishes has one: A dos Francos, Alvorninha, Foz do Arelho, Landal,

Salir de Matos Salir de Matos is one of twelve civil parishes (''freguesias'') in the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district ...

, Santa Catarina, Tornada, and Vidais. Fire protection is provided by the Bombeiros Voluntários de Caldas da Rainha (BVCR, Volunteer Firefighters of Caldas da Rainha).

Police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

protection in the urban areas of the municipality is provided by the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP, Public Security Police). Rural areas of the municipality are patrolled by the

Guarda Nacional Republicana The National Republican Guard ( pt, Guarda Nacional Republicana) or GNR is the national gendarmerie force of Portugal. Members of the GNR are military personnel, subject to military law and organisation, unlike the agents of the civilian Publi ...

(GNR, Republican National Guard). The GNR's base is located within the city proper.

Sports

Headquarters of the Federação Portuguesa de Badminton

The municipal Complexo Desportivo (Sports Complex), located on the western edge of the city in Santo Onofre, features a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

field and a

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This i ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. The field is home to Caldas Rugby Clube and can be used for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer). In 2008 the municipality added five

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

courts (two of which are covered) in an adjacent facility. The municipal pools are located nearby. Four multi-use sports pavilions are found throughout the city. Santo Onofre hosts a

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarder ...

park. The municipality has designated five

routes, three of which can be used on foot. All five routes are in the western portion of the municipality, and one crosses into São Martinho do Porto in

Alcobaça municipality Alcobaça may refer to: In Brazil * Alcobaça, Bahia In Portugal * Alcobaça, Portugal ** Alcobaça Municipality ** Alcobaça Monastery The Alcobaça Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro de Alcobaça, ''Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça'') is a Catholic ...

. Caldas da Rainha has a

(''praça de touros'') in Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, inaugurated on 13 June 1883. The octagonal arena originally seated 4,000 spectators, but now has capacity for 3,250. In a typical year, the ring hosts between three and six bullfights. The arena also hosts concerts. The Grupo de Forcados Amadores das Caldas da Rainha (

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

Forcado A forcado () is a member of a group of men that performs the ''pega de cara'' or ''pega de caras'' ("face catch"), the final event in a typical Portuguese bullfight. The only Spanish-style bullfighting where forcados may also be present are Mexic ...

Group of Caldas da Rainha) participate in a phase of the Portuguese bullfight wherein they attempt to immobilize the bull by grabbing it, using no tools but their hands and bodies.

Caldas Sport Clube Caldas Sport Clube is a Portuguese professional football team based in Caldas da Rainha. Founded on 15 May 1916, the club competes in the Campeonato de Portugal. History Between 1956 and 1959, Caldas participated in the Portuguese Liga, the to ...

(CSC) was founded 15 May 1916. The club sponsors teams in several levels of football (soccer) and

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

. The team's main pitch is Campo da Mata, a 13,000-seat field located in a wood adjacent to Parque D. Carlos I. The Federação Portuguesa de Badminton (Portuguese

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

Federation) is headquartered in Caldas da Rainha. The Centro de Alto Rendimento de Badminton (High Performance Badminton Centre) was inaugurated in Santo Onofre on 6 February 2010.

Notable people

* Queen

Eleanor of Viseu Eleanor of Viseu (2 May 1458 – 17 November 1525; pt, Leonor de Viseu ) was a Portuguese '' infanta'' (princess) and later queen consort of Portugal. She is considered one of her country's most notable queens consort and one of the only t ...

(1458–1525) husband of

John II of Portugal John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...

, founded the town * Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1846–1905) was a

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Al ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

ist and figurist; co-founded ''Faianças Artísticas Bordallo Pinheiro'', a ceramics factory in Caldas. *

José Malhoa José Vital Branco Malhoa, known simply as José Malhoa (28 April 1855 – 26 October 1933) was a Portuguese painter. Malhoa was, with Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, the leading name in Portuguese naturalist painting in the second half of the ...

(1855 in Caldas da Rainha – 1933) a Portuguese naturalist painter, the local José Malhoa Museum displays his works. *

Raul Proença Raul Proença (May 10, 1884 – May 20, 1941) was a Portugal, Portuguese writer, journalist, and intellectual. Born in Caldas da Rainha, Proença earned a degree in economics, economic and finance, financial sciences from the Instituto Industrial e ...

(1884 in Caldas da Rainha – 1941) a politician, writer,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, and intellectual; a local public secondary schools bears his name. * João Fragoso (1913 in Caldas da Rainha – 2000) a Portuguese painter, competed in the

Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics Art competitions were held as part of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain. Medals were awarded in five categories (architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture), for works inspired by sport-related themes. The art ex ...

José Policarpo José da Cruz Policarpo, GCC (; 26 February 1936 – 12 March 2014), officially referred to as José IV, Patriarch of Lisbon, though usually referred to as "D. José Policarpo", was Patriarch of Lisbon from 24 March 1998 to 18 May 2013. Po ...

(1936 in Alvorninha – 2014) the 16th

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon ( la, Patriarcha Olisiponensis, pt, Patriarca de Lisboa), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the ...

from 1998; became a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

in 2001. * Vitalino Canas (born 1959 in Caldas da Rainha) a Portuguese lawyer, professor and politician

Sport

* Reinaldo Almeida Lopes da Silva (born 1965 in Caldas da Rainha) known as ''Reinaldo'' a former footballer with 231 club caps * João Lucas (born 1979 in Caldas da Rainha - 2015) a footballer with 200 club caps * Ricardo Campos (born 1985 in Caldas da Rainha) a former footballer with 174 club caps and 17 for

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Gastão Elias Gastão José Ministro Elias (; born 24 November 1990) is a Portuguese professional tennis player, who competes on the ATP World Tour. He became the fifth Portuguese tennis player to break into the top 100 of the Association of Tennis Profession ...

(born 1990 in Lourinhã) a Portuguese professional tennis player * Frederico Ferreira Silva (born 1995 in Caldas da Rainha) a Portuguese tennis player * João Almeida (born 1998 in Caldas da Rainha) a Portuguese cyclist

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Portal Caldas da Rainha
by Município das Caldas da Rainha—the municipality's official

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...

* Caldas da Rainha - City Guide—a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

developed b
Bitcliq
for the municipal government, available fo
iOS
an
Android
devices *
Gazeta das Caldas
'—weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

published on Fridays *
Jornal das Caldas
'—weekly newspaper published on Wednesdays {{Authority control Cities in Portugal Centro Region Spa towns in Portugal 1484 establishments in Europe Municipalities of Leiria District 15th-century establishments in Portugal