Covilhã is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. It is located in the Beiras e Serra da Estrela subregion and Beiras and Serra da Estrela Intermunicipal Community. The municipal holiday is October 20.
Sometimes referred to as town of wool and snow, Covilhã is one of the main urban centres of the historical Beira Interior region. The proximity of the mountains offers dramatic scenery and a great environment for those fond of hiking, camping, mountain climbing and skiing.
The climate in Covilhã is Mediterranean, moderately cold in the winter and relatively warm in the summer. There is the Vodafone Ski Resort, the only ski resort in Portugal, 20 km (12.4 mi) away from the city, actually in the neighbouring municipality of Seia.
History and landmarks
Covilhã’s history dates back to the days when it was a pre-historical settlement, a shelter for Lusitanian shepherds, and a Roman fortress known as Cava Juliana or Silia Hermínia. The region of Beira Interior, where the city of Covilhã is located, is rich in historical places. Due to its strategic potential, its mountains were used to build castles for both attack and defence purposes. Covilhã was granted foral in 1186 by king Sancho I of Portugal, who also built the castle walls. The old quarters of the city have narrow cobblestone streets; pedestrians are challenged permanently by the ups and downs of most of the streets in the city.
A school-factory was built by Fernando de Meneses, 2nd Count of Ericeira in 1681. On November 1, 1755, Covilhã was shaken by the forces of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that destroyed part of Covilhã’s castle walls and its large towers. A Royal Textile Factory was established in the city by the Marquis of Pombal in 1763, and Covilhã was granted city status on 20 October 1870 by king Luís I. Along the two streams that cross the city there are still remains of the old textile factories, which bear witness to the unquestionable importance of this industry for Covilhã’s economy, once known as the “Portuguese Manchester”.
During the first half of the 19th century, the municipality of Covilhã had about 22,000 inhabitants, and in 1930 it nearly reached 50,000 inhabitants. During the 1960s, Covilhã’s municipality surpassed 70,000 inhabitants, but the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974) and the generalized emigration phenomena of the 1960s to 1980s Portuguese society, its geographical location in the mountainous interior of central Portugal, increasing mechanization, and the stagnation of its textile industrial sector caused a period of decline of its population to nearly 50,000 in the 1990s. A state-run university, UBI – Universidade da Beira Interior, was founded in 1979. The city is still expanding, mainly to the flat part of the valley, called Cova da Beira, where some important infrastructure, such as the central hospital and the highway, are located.
Education[edit]
A view of the University of Beira Interior
Covilhã has a public university – the University of Beira Interior (UBI), which was founded in 1979 and awards all university academic degrees (licentiate “licenciatura“, master’s and doctorate degrees) in several fields ranging from medicine to mathematics to sports sciences to aeronautical engineering to cinema to Psychology and many others.
The municipality of Covilhã has several kindergartens for pre-school children between 3 and 6 years of age, and 3 primary education schools. It has also a number of 2nd and 3rd cycle basic and secondary schools: Escola Secundária Frei Heitor Pinto, Escola Básica dos 2º e 3º ciclos de Tortosendo, Escola Básica Integrada de Sao Domingos, Escola Básica dos 2º e 3º ciclos de Paúl, Escola Básica do 2º ciclo de Pêro da Covilhã, Escola Secundária Campos Melo, Escola Secundária Quinta das Palmeiras, Escola Básica dos 2º e 3º ciclos de Teixoso, Externato de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and Escola Internacional da Covilhã.
Economy[edit]
Major economic activities in the region include textiles, food industry and agriculture. The University of Beira Interior (established in 1979) has a great importance in the city today. The Centro Hospitalar Cova da Beira at Covilhã, a state-run hospital, plays a major role in the region. Covilhã is traditionally a center of wool and textile industries – the university central building was the Royal Textile Factory, established by the Marquis of Pombal in the 18th century. Covilhã has deep industrial roots and is still one of the biggest woollens fabrics producers in Europe. Actually, this industry produces about 40,000 km of fabrics by year, through some textiles companies like Paulo de Oliveira, Penteadora, Tessimax and A. Saraiva, which are supplying of great worldwide textile and fashion brands such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Zegna, Marks & Spencer, Yves St. Laurent, Calvin Klein and Christian Dior. Tourism is also important, and the city has a role as a winter and mountain resort. Fruit production is important in the region of Cova da Beira, a subregion centered in Covilhã’s municipality. Frulact, a Portuguese fruit processing company, has major industrial facilities in the municipality of Covilhã. The city has a science park – Parkurbis – which has attracted several new businesses to the area.The Parkurbis is a science park which has attracted new businesses to Covilhã.
In the mid-2000s, Aleia (a joint-venture of the French companies Dyn’Aéro and Equip’Aéro with the Portuguese Spinworks and Plasdan) announced its intention to produce jet planes of four and six places integrally conceived, constructed and mounted in Covilhã as from 2011. The existence of the University of Beira Interior, with its degree of aeronautical engineering, as well as the local aerodrome contributed for the final decision from Aleia to develop an aerospace industry in the town.
There is a large shopping centre in Covilhã, Serra Shopping, and besides a wide variety of shops, it has hypermarket, four cinemas and many restaurants. Hypermarkets and supermarkets located in the lower part of the town include Continente (inside Serra Shopping), Intermarché, Pingo Doce and Lidl. The Public Market (Mercado Municipal) is another option and an opportunity to buy fresh produce directly from the producers. This town was recently chosen by the biggest telecommunications company in Portugal Portugal Telecom to there build and install one of the biggest Data Centres of Europe, with the capacity to store 30 petabytes of information. The building, opened in September 2013 has a floor area the size of thirteen football pitches. Covilhã is considered now the biggest town in terms of Development and new technologies.
Events and recreation
The City Hall of Covilhã used to be responsible for the cultural programming of one of the movie theatres of the town which has a wide variety of activities throughout the year. Such Movie Theater is now closed. There are also various theatre companies: Teatrubi, ASTA, Teatro das Beiras and Quarta Parede that stage theatre and multimedia productions throughout the year. A theatre festival is organised by a local theatre company, Teatro das Beiras, in November.
The city hosts several choirs and orchestras, like the well-known university choir and the EPABI orchestra, which is based in the building near the public garden (location has now changed to the lower parts of the city), as well as the Orquestra da Banda Filarmónica. At the university there are some student musical groups that reveal the academic environment and celebrate the traditions. They are called Tunas and each one has particular characteristics. Desertuna, Moçoilas Tuna and J’ B’ubi & To Kokuskopus perform throughout the year and welcome everyone that wants to join in and get into the academic spirit. The city hall organizes some musical events, mainly in Teatro Cine, that is located in the heart of the city centre (Pelourinho).
The theatre company GICC (Companhia de Teatro das Beiras), based in Travessa da Tapa, offers professional and high quality performances. There are also various amateur drama groups and dance groups performing in several town locations; ASTA and TEATRUBI are just some examples. Conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs, concerts and other kinds of activities are common in the city. Several trade fairs occur throughout the year in a pavilion belonging to the ANIL – National Association of Textile Manufacturers.
Like other university towns Covilhã has an intense nightlife. Due to the small dimension of the city, it is safe to go out, thus the resulting atmosphere is familiar and there are many pleasant places to have a drink.
A freshmen reception week, organised by the students’ union of the University of Beira Interior (Associação Académica da Universidade da Beira Interior), takes place usually in November and includes a parade through town called Latada and several concerts.
