PENAMACOR
N 40.16927; W 7.17029
Penamacor is a Portuguese border village in the district of Castelo Branco, statistical region of the Center and sub-region of Beira Baixa, part of the traditional province with the same name, with about 1 500 inhabitants.
It is the seat of the Municipality of Penamacor with an area of 563.71 km² and 4,764 inhabitants (2021), subdivided into 9 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipality of Sabugal, to the east by Spain, to the south by Idanha-a-Nova and to the west by Fundão.
The village is located at an average altitude of 700 meters.
Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 9 civil parishes (freguesias):
Aldeia do Bispo, Águas e Aldeia de João Pires
Aranhas
Benquerença
Meimão
Meimoa
Pedrógão de São Pedro e Bemposta
Penamacor
Salvador
Vale da Senhora da Póvoa
History
Only under the reign of Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211) is the history of Penamacor defined with any clarity. This village has been the homeland of Vamba, king of the Goths, who ruled the peninsula from 672 to 682. D. Sancho I conquered Penamacor from the Muslims, granted it a charter in 1199, elevating it to town, and donated its domains to the knights. of the Order of the Temple in the figure of its master D. Gualdim Pais, who fortified it.
