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Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the Sado River and its natural harbour, it is an important fishing town. The population in 2011 was 49,500,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 195.47 km².Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
/ref> The present Mayor is Francisco Jesus.
A tourist travelling to Sesimbra can appreciate its beaches, traditional fish restaurants and the Arrábida National Park. Sesimbra is a popular diving location close to Lisbon and the most famous dive site is the wreck of the River Gurara, a Nigerian cargo ship, that sunk in 1989 with the loss of 45 sailors.
Close to the Moorish castle is the church Nossa Senhora do Castelo. It stands on the spot where king Sancho I built a Romanesque chapel in the early 13th century, leading to the creation in 1388 of the parish of Nossa Senhora do Castelo de Sesimbra. The present church was built in 1721. When a new church was built in the village, this church passed into disuse and fell into ruins. It was restored between 1965 and 2001. The walls of the church are inlaid with azulejos. The 17th century-pulpit was made from local pink marble. The gilded triumphal arch of the 18th century-choir is decorated with Manueline motives. On the left side of the choir stands in a niche the gilded and polychromed statue of the Madonna of the Castle on a giant shell.
Sesimbra serves as the landing point for the
File:View_of_Sesimbra.jpg, View of Sesimbra
File:Rua Almirante Sande Vasconcelos.JPG, Sesimbra view from Almirante Sande Vasconcelos street
File:Sesimbras_Harbour.jpg, Sesimbra's harbour
File:Castelo de Sesimbra, entrada principal (43909146395).jpg, Moorish castle
File:Sesimbra12.jpg, Church of Nossa Senhora do Castelo
File:Faina_de_Pesca,Sesimbra.jpg, Fishermen in Sesimbra
File:Pink_Sesimbra.jpg, Sesimbra, Portugal
File:Sesimbra Beach and Fortaleza de Santiago.jpg, The Gold Beach coastline (''Praia do Ouro'') at Sesimbra, traditional Portuguese fishing village bay, part of the Blue Coast region
Visit Sesimbra
{{Authority control Towns in Portugal Port cities and towns in Portugal Seaside resorts in Portugal Populated places in Setúbal District Municipalities of Setúbal District
/ref> in an area of 195.47 km².Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
/ref> The present Mayor is Francisco Jesus.
General information
Besides professional fishing and sport fishing (mainly ofswordfish
Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...
), the most significant revenues in Sesimbra come from tourism. The town is known for its beaches, fish restaurants and nightlife.
The original name of Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic origin was Cempsibriga, meaning the high place (briga) of the Celtic tribe the Cempsi.
Close by, on a mountaintop, above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
, lies strategically (the ruins of) the Moorish castle
The Moorish Castle is the name given to a medieval fortification in Gibraltar comprising various buildings, gates, and fortified walls, with the dominant features being the Tower of Homage and the Gate House. Part of the castle itself also house ...
. It was taken from the Moors, during the Portuguese Reconquista in the year 1165 by king Afonso Henriques with the help of Frank Crusaders. The battlements afford a panorama over Sesimbra, its harbour and the surrounding countryside. In addition to the castle, Sessimbra has two forts dating back to the 17th century; the Fortress of Saint James of Sesimbra in the centre of town and the Fort of São Teodósio da Ponta do Cavalo. The former contains a museum covering Sesimbra's history as a fishing village.
During the Age of Discoveries, Sesimbra became an important seaport. Even king Manuel I lived here for a while. In the 17th century the fort ''Fortaleza de Santiago'' was built along the beach, as part of Portugal's coastal defence. On 3 June 1602 an English fleet defeated a Spanish galley fleet and in addition captured a large Portuguese carrack and severely damaged the fort. It was even used in the 18th century by Portuguese kings as a seaside retreat.
A tourist travelling to Sesimbra can appreciate its beaches, traditional fish restaurants and the Arrábida National Park. Sesimbra is a popular diving location close to Lisbon and the most famous dive site is the wreck of the River Gurara, a Nigerian cargo ship, that sunk in 1989 with the loss of 45 sailors.
Close to the Moorish castle is the church Nossa Senhora do Castelo. It stands on the spot where king Sancho I built a Romanesque chapel in the early 13th century, leading to the creation in 1388 of the parish of Nossa Senhora do Castelo de Sesimbra. The present church was built in 1721. When a new church was built in the village, this church passed into disuse and fell into ruins. It was restored between 1965 and 2001. The walls of the church are inlaid with azulejos. The 17th century-pulpit was made from local pink marble. The gilded triumphal arch of the 18th century-choir is decorated with Manueline motives. On the left side of the choir stands in a niche the gilded and polychromed statue of the Madonna of the Castle on a giant shell.
Sesimbra serves as the landing point for the submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...
s, such as SAT-3/WASC and Atlantis-2.
There is a local radio station in the municipality, ''Sesimbra FM''.
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 3 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Castelo * Quinta do Conde * SantiagoInternational relations
Twin towns - Sister cities
Sesimbra is a founding member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns ( Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).Notable people
* Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho (ca.1560–1602) a Portuguese explorer appointed by the KingPhilip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
to sail along the shores of California in the years 1595 and 1596 to map the American west coast line
* twins Marco Paixão & Flávio Paixão (born 1984) Portuguese footballers, both with about 450 club caps
Gallery
References
;Bibliography *The Rough Guide to Portugal; 11th edition, March 2005; *Rentes de Carvalho, J. - Portugal, um guia para amigos (in Dutch translation : Portugal); De Arbeiderspers, 9th ed. August 1999; ;NotesExternal links
Visit Sesimbra
{{Authority control Towns in Portugal Port cities and towns in Portugal Seaside resorts in Portugal Populated places in Setúbal District Municipalities of Setúbal District