Alenquer, Portugal

Alenquer (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐlẽˈkɛɾ] ^ⓘ), officially the Town of Alenquer (Portuguese: Vila de Alenquer), is a Portuguese municipality in the Lisbon District and in the Oeste region. The population in 2011 was 43,267,^[1] in an area of 304.22 square kilometres (117.46 sq mi).^[2] The present Mayor is Pedro Miguel Ferreira Folgado.^[3]

Town of Alenquer
Municipality
View of Alenquer from Praça Luís de Camões
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 39°03′N 9°01′W
Country	Portugal
Region	Oeste e Vale do Tejo
Intermunic. comm.	Oeste
District	Lisbon
Parishes	11
Government
• President	Paulo Sequeira Santos
Area
• Total	304.22 km2 (117.46 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	43,267
• Density	140/km2 (370/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Local holiday	Ascension Day (date varies)
Website	http://www.cm-alenquer.pt

History

Alenquer received its Foral in 1212 by the hand of Infanta (Princess) Sancha, Lady of Alenquer, daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal.

Climate

Alenquer has a mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. It has a total of 2763.9 annual hours of sunshine.^[4]

Climate data for Ota Airport, Alenquer, 1961-1990, altitude: 40 m (130 ft)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	21.6 (70.9)	24.5 (76.1)	27.3 (81.1)	29.4 (84.9)	36.5 (97.7)	43.5 (110.3)	40.5 (104.9)	40.9 (105.6)	39.8 (103.6)	33.6 (92.5)	29.4 (84.9)	22.8 (73.0)	43.5 (110.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	14.7 (58.5)	15.7 (60.3)	17.7 (63.9)	19.2 (66.6)	22.0 (71.6)	25.6 (78.1)	28.4 (83.1)	28.7 (83.7)	27.4 (81.3)	23.1 (73.6)	18.0 (64.4)	15.1 (59.2)	21.3 (70.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)	10.1 (50.2)	11.0 (51.8)	12.8 (55.0)	14.4 (57.9)	16.9 (62.4)	20.0 (68.0)	22.4 (72.3)	22.5 (72.5)	21.4 (70.5)	17.8 (64.0)	13.4 (56.1)	10.7 (51.3)	16.1 (61.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	6.3 (43.3)	7.9 (46.2)	9.6 (49.3)	11.8 (53.2)	14.4 (57.9)	16.4 (61.5)	16.3 (61.3)	15.4 (59.7)	12.5 (54.5)	8.8 (47.8)	6.3 (43.3)	10.9 (51.7)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	84.6 (3.33)	88.7 (3.49)	61.8 (2.43)	56.7 (2.23)	44.1 (1.74)	20.9 (0.82)	4.5 (0.18)	5.7 (0.22)	23.2 (0.91)	74.1 (2.92)	103.6 (4.08)	89.2 (3.51)	657.1 (25.86)
Source: Instituto de Meteorologia[5]

Notable residents

• Pero de Alenquer a 15th-century Portuguese explorer of the African coast
• Damião de Góis (1502 in Alenquer – 1574) an important Portuguese humanist philosopher.^[6]
• John Smith Athelstane, 1st Count of Carnota (1813-1886 in Alenquer) a British diplomat, author, biographer and painter.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 11 civil parishes (freguesias):^[7]

• Abrigada e Cabanas de Torres
• Aldeia Galega da Merceana e Aldeia Gavinha
• Alenquer
• Carnota
• Carregado e Cadafais
• Meca
• Olhalvo
• Ota
• Ribafria e Pereiro de Palhacana
• Ventosa
• Vila Verde dos Francos

See also

• Alenquer DOC, a wine designation.