Alcoutim

District: Alcoutim
Region: Faro, Portugal
Post Code: 8970
Distance from Faro: 91 km
Residents: 1.100

 

The roots of the Alcoutim area go back to the megalithic culture around 4000 BC. From about 2500 BC to the time of the Roman empire the deposits of copper and iron attracted to establish mines. The ore was smelted locally and then shipped down the River Guadiana.

Located on the border to the Alentejo and to Spain, Alcoutim has two impressive castles on both sides of the bordering River Guadiana. The town is located at the place where the river becomes tidal, so people wanting to ship their goods had to wait here, until the conditions allowed them to sail down the river. Thus structures to support and defend this business where needed. Due to its strategic position at the boundaries of the Guadiana River and to the neighbouring kingdom Castile, King Dinis gave it a Charta and granted it to the Military Order of Santiago. To adapt it for artillery, the castle  had to be modified in the 17th Century.

The diminishing role of the river as a transport route, the distance of Alcoutim from the sea, and the declining of the mining industry lead to a longer period of economic stagnation. Today visitors coming to Alcoutim can enjoy peaceful hours walking through the streets of this charming town or along the river.

The ancient techniques of popular crafts are still preserved in the villages of Alcoutim, where the locals continue to weave rag blankets, covers and linen cloths on wooden looms (Clarines, Penteadeiros, Mestras, Barroso, Vaqueiros) and where the women make shawls, stockings, straw hats and lace (Vascão, Cones Pereira, Zorrinho, Lutão, Tacões, Vaqueiros, Fernandilho, Cachopo).