Raposeira is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the municipality of

Vila do Bispo Vila do Bispo () is a municipality (''concelho'') in the Portuguese Algarve. It has 5,717 inhabitants in an area of 179.06 km2. History The first references to this region referred to the ''Aldeia do Bispo'' in the 14th century, in a char ...

, District of Faro, in

Algarve region The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has its admin ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It is told that it is named after fox because ''raposa'' means ''fox'' in Portuguese. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish

Vila do Bispo e Raposeira Vila do Bispo e Raposeira is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Vila do Bispo Vila do Bispo () is a municipality (''concelho'') in the Portuguese Algarve. It ...

. It has an area of 25.71 km² and 441 inhabitants (2001). It is one of the parishes covered by the

Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (PNSACV) is a natural park located in southwest Portugal. It occupies an area of ( on land and at sea) and is one of the last strongholds of the wild European coast. It has one of the highest ...

. Raposeira was one of the places where the 15th-century Portuguese prince

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

set up residence during his lifetime. Henry was known to have attended mass at the isolated but spacious chapel dedicated to the cult of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

, believed to have been originally erected by the

Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...

knights in the latter part the 13th century, and one of the few Medieval structures in this region of the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

to have survived the 1755 earthquake intact. There are several groups of megalithic

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s on the way to the beach. It became a hotspot for national and international road travellers, campers and surfers, and many foreigners have done retirement settlement there. People from Germany, England and Netherlands can be found in the area, as well as from the rest of Europe. The place is windy in summer. Wind blows mostly from two sides: cold wind blows from

Monchique Monchique () is a municipality of southern Portugal, in Faro District (province of Algarve). The population in 2011 was 6,045, in an area of 395.30 km2. The Municipality of Monchique is situated in the Serra de Monchique and together with th ...

a nearby area popular for '' medronho'' (a very strong local alcoholic drink) but on the other side, coming from Morocco, a hot wind blows. In the centre of Raposeira, local Portuguese bars, a small cafe restaurant and a pizza restaurant can be found. The village is usually very quiet and peaceful. Bus transport to Sagres and

is available from 6:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening, sometimes differing on public holidays.

Patrimony

* Menhir of Aspradantes * Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe * Igreja da Raposeira * Casa do Infante * Battery of Zavial Image:Igreja Matriz da Raposeira.jpg, Church of Raposeira Image:Capela de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe in Raposeira.jpg, Hermitage of Our Lady of Guadalupe Image:Menir Raposeira.jpg, Menhir of Aspradantes

Notable people

Sousa Cintra José de Sousa Cintra (born 1944), known professionally as Sousa Cintra, is a Portuguese businessman who served as president of multi-sports club Sporting CP from 1989 to 1995. Biography He was born in 1944 in the village and parish of Raposei ...

, Portuguese businessman and former chairman of Sporting CP

References

{{authority control Former parishes of Vila do Bispo