Loriga - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia Coordinates: 40°19′13.69″N 7°39′58.15″W / 40.3204694°N
7.6661528°W / 40.3204694;
-7.6661528 Loriga
Civil Parish (
The valley parish of Loriga in the shadow of the Official
name: Vila de Loriga Country -
Portugal Region -
Centro, Portugal Subregion -
Serra da Estrela District -
Guarda
Municipality - Seia Localities
- Fontão, Loriga Landmark -
Torre (Serra da Estrela) Rivers -
Ribeira de São Bento, Ribeira de Loriga Center
Loriga -
elevation1,293 m ( -
coordinates40°19′13.69″N 7°39′58.15″W / 40.3204694°N
7.6661528°W / 40.3204694;
-7.6661528
Length4.21 km (
Width13.78 km (
Area36.25 km² (14 sq mi)
Population1,367 (2005)
Density37.71 / km² (98 / sq mi) LAU -
Vila/Junta Freguesia -
location - Largo da Fonte do Mouro, Loriga Timezone -
WET (UTC0) -
summer (DST)WEST (UTC+1)
ISO 3166-2 codePT-
Postal Zone - 6270-073 Loriga Area Code
& Prefix(+351) 238 XXX XXX Demonym –
Loriguense or Loricense Patron
Saint - Parish
Address - Largo da Fonte do Mouro, 1019 6270-073
Loriga
Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico
Português (2010) Loriga (Portuguese
pronunciation: [loˈɾiɡɐ]) is a small town (Portuguese: Seia, nestled in the resident
population at about 1367 inhabitants, in an area of 36.25 km² that includes the two
localities/villages of Loriga and Fontão.
History Loriga was founded originally
along a column between ravines where today the historic centre exists. The
site was ostensibly selected more than 2600 years ago, owing to its
defensibility, the abundance of potable water and pasturelands, and lowlands that
provided conditions to practice both hunting and gathering/agriculture. When the Romans
arrived in the region, the settlement was concentrated into two areas. The larger,
older and principal agglomeration was situated in the area of the main church
and Rua de Viriato, fortified with a wall and palisade. The second group, in
the Bairro de São Ginês, were some small homes constructed on the rocky
promintory, which were later appropriated by the Visigoths in order to construct a
chapel. The 1st century Roman road and two bridges (the second was destroyed in
the 17th century after flooding) connected the outpost of Lorica to the rest
of their Lusitanian province. The barrio of São Ginês (São Gens), a local
ex-libris, is the location of the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, an ancient
Visigothic chapel. São Gens, a Celtic saint, martyred in na Gália, during
the reign of Emperor Diocletian, and over time the locals began to refer to this
saint as São Ginês, due to its easy of pronunciation. Middle Ages Loriga was the municipal
seat since the 12th century, receiving forals
in 1136 (João Rhânia, master of the two decades,
during the reign of Afonso Henriques), 1249 (during the reign of Afonso III), 1474
(under King Afonso V) and finally in 1514 (by King Manuel I). Loriga was an
ecclesiastical parish of the vicarage of the Royal Padroado and its church, was to the
invokation of ancient small
Visigothic chapel (there is a lateral block with Visigoth inscriptions
visible). Constructed in the Romanesque-style it consists of a three-nave
building, with hints of the Sé Velha of destroyed during
the 1755 earthquake, and only portions of the lateral walls were preserved. The 1755
earthquake resulted in significant damage to the village of Loriga,
destroying homes and the parcochial residence, in addition to opening-up cracks
and faults in the village's larger buildings, such as the historic municipal
council hall (constructed in the 13th century). An emissary of the
Marquess of Pombal actually visited Loriga to evaluate the damage (something
that did not happen in other mountainous parishes, even Covilhã) and
provide support. The residents of
Loriga supported the Absolutionist forces of the Infante Miguel of resulted in Loriga
being abandoned politically after Miguel's explusion by his brother King
Peter. In 1855, as a consequence of its support, it was stripped of municipal
status during the municipal reforms of the 19th century. At the time of its
municipal demise (October 1855), the the parishes of Alvoco da Serra, Cabeça,
Sazes da Beira, Teixeira, Valezim and Vide, as well as
thirty other disincorporated villages. Loriga was an
industrial centre for textile manufacturing during the 19th century. It was one
of the few industrialized centres in the region, even
supplanting Seia until the middle of the 20th century. Only Covilhã
out-preformed Loriga in terms of businesses operating from its lands; companies such as Regato, Redondinha, Fonte
dos Amores, Tapadas, Fândega, Leitão & Irmãos, among others. The
main roadway in Loriga, Avenida named for one of
the villages most illustrious industrialists. The wool industry started to decline
during the last decades of the 20th century, a factor that aggravated and
accelerated the decline of the region. Geography Known locally as
the "Portuguese Park. It is
located in the south-central part of the along the
southeast part of the Serra, between several ravines, but specifically the Ribeira de São Bento and Ribeira de
Loriga; it is Seia, ( connects directly
to the region of the was completed in
2006), or through the E.N.339, a transits some of
the main elevations ( de Loriga, and The region is
carved by U-shaped glacial valleys, modelled by the movement of ancient glaciers.
The main valley, Vale de Loriga was carved by longitudanal abrasion that also
created rounded pockets, where the glacial resistance was minor. Starting at
an altitude of valley descends
abruptly until villages such as Cabeça, Casal do Rei and
Muro. The central town, Loriga, is seven kilometres
from Torre (the highest point), but the parish is sculpted by cliffs, alluvial
plains and glacial lakes deposited during millennia of glacial erosion, and
surrounded by rare ancient forest that surrounded the lateral flanks of these
glaciers. Economy Textiles are the
principal local export;
Loriga was a hub the textile and wool industries during the mid-19th century,
in addition to being subsistence agriculture responsible for the cultivation of
corn. The Loriguense economy is based on metallurgical industries,
bread-making, commercial shops, restaurants and agricultural support services. While that textile
industry has since dissipated, the town began to attract a tourist trade due
to its proximity to the Resort (the only
ski center in parish limits. |
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