Aljustrel (), officially Town of Aljustrel (), is a town and a

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

in the Portuguese district of Beja. The population in 2011 was 9,257, in an area of 458.47 km². The present mayor is Nelson Domingos Brito, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is June 13.

History

Aljustrel from the East - George Landmann

During the Roman era, Aljustrel was known as ''Metallum Vispascense''. It was occupied by the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

but in 1235 the town was conquered from them by King D. Sancho II. The first foral (''charter'') was only conceded by King Sancho in 1252. A new foral was issued on 20 September 1510, by King D. Manuel I. On 28 January 2013, the civil parishes of Aljustrel and Rio dos Minhos were aggregated into one local authority called Aljustrel (Decree 11-A/2013, Diário da República, Série 1, 19).

Geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishe ...

: * Aljustrel e Rio de Moinhos * Ervidel * Messejana * São João de Negrilhos

International relations

Aljustrel is twinned with: *

Hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

, in the département of Nord, France

Notable People

Notable people from Aljustrel include: * Manuel de Brito Camacho (1862—1934) a military officer, writer, publicist and politician; High Commissioner to

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

, 1921-1923 * António Lobo de Almada Negreiros (1868–1939) a journalist and colonialist writer, essayist and poet; he lived in

São Tomé Island São Tomé Island, at , is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts of São Tomé and Príncipe, districts. It is located ...

* Fernanda Peleja Patrício (19292000). Portuguese communist who opposed the '' Estado Novo'' regime, president of the Aljustrel council, 1986–1989. * João Rebelo (born 1961) a former sport shooter who competed in each Summer Olympics from 1984 to 2000 * Jorge Soares (born 1971) a Portuguese retired footballer with 396 club caps

Architecture

Civic

* Cinema/Theatre of Aljustrel () * Fountain of Alonso Gomes () * Mines of Aljustrel () * Mines of São João do Deserto () * Municipal Palace/Hall of Messejana () * Museum of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia () * Pillory of Messejana () * Residence of the Majorat Moreiras ()

Military

* Castle of Aljustrel () * Castle of Messejana ()

Religious

* Chapel of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia () * Chapel of São Pedro () * Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção () * Church of Nossa Senhora do Castelo () * Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário () * Church of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Messejana () * Church of the Santissimo Salvador () * Church of São João () * Church of São Julião () * Hermitage of Santa Margarida () * Stations of the Cross of Messejana ()

References

Populated places in Beja District Municipalities of Beja District {{Beja-geo-stub