Evora, Portugal

Évora is the capital of the Alentejo Region, in Portugal.
The name Évora comes from the Celtic word ebora/ ebura, the plural of yew.
Evora region was already populated in Neolithic times, with monuments such as the Zambujeira dolmen, the Almendro menhir and the Almendres Cromlech as evidence.
However, diggings in Évora show no evidence of the city being inhabited prior to the Roman period. According to legend, Évora was the base from which the Lusitanian and General Sertorius troops attacked Roman power.
In 57 B.C. the city was eventually conquered by the Romans and designated Ebora Liberitas Julia has a homage to Julius Ceaser. The city grew in importance due to being at the junction of several important routes. Pliny the Elder, who visited the city, referred to it as "Ebora cerealis" because of the many surrounding wheat fields.In the 3rd century, due to instability, the first walls were built.
After the barbarian invasions, the city went into decline and very few remains of this period have been found.
In 715 the city was conquered by the moors and again prospered.The walls were recovered and a castle and a mosque were built.
In 1165 the city was conquered by Gerald the Fearless, who was trying to please the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques. The city flourished during the Middle Ages as the court of the first and second dynasties resided here for long periods. By the 16th century, it was the second most important city in the kingdom. It became the seat of an archbishopric in 1540 and the Jesuits founded the university in 1599. However, in the 18th century the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal by the Marquis of Pombal and again the city went into decline.
The university reopened in 1973 and in 1986 Évora was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. This has brought some dynamism to the city.
You can make a day trip to Évora, from Lisbon, Orient Station (train Intercidades- IC); it takes about 90 minutes and costs €12.20, one way (2016).

 You can buy your train ticket here.

 What to see in Évora: 

 Roman Temple
Cathedral
Évora Museum
Saint Francis Church and Chapel of the Bones




Local: Évora, Portugal

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