Amora, glassmaking town on the Tagus
Amora, in the municipality of Seixal on the south bank of the Tagus estuary, grew rich on wine praised in the 16th century and later on glass. See the workers' housing beside its pioneering 19th-century bottle factory and relax in the Paivas urban park.
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Amora is a city in the municipality of Seixal, on the south bank of the Tagus estuary, in the Lisbon metropolitan area. Two arms of the Tagus reach into the parish, and the parish council notes that the river has linked it with the rest of Seixal and with Lisbon since the Middle Ages.
Amora is first mentioned in 1384, when the chronicler Fernão Lopes placed the galleys of the Master of Avis in the arm of the Tagus between Seixal, Arrentela and Amora during the wars with Castile. Its oldest settlement grew up at Cheira Ventos, once called Amora Velha, before the town spread towards the river into Amora de Baixo, by the water, and Amora de Cima, by the church. Vineyards were the source of its wealth: in the 16th century Garcia de Resende and Gil Vicente praised the wine of Seixal, and Gaspar Frutuoso called it the best in the kingdom. Amora belonged to Almada until Seixal municipality was created in 1836.
Industry arrived in the second half of the 19th century. In 1888 the Companhia de Vidros da Amora founded a bottle factory by the River Judeu which, according to the parish council, was the first of its kind in Portugal and reduced the need to import bottles from England and Germany. Its first skilled workers came from England, but were sent home after the British Ultimatum and replaced by 30 glassworkers from Hamburg. The workers' housing built beside the factory can still be seen, and in 1898 the workers founded the Sociedade Filarmónica Operária Amorense.
Amora became a vila on 30 June 1989 and a city on 20 May 1993. For green space, head to the Paivas urban park.
The craft beer scene in Amora is still waiting to be discovered. Travellers can look around neighbouring Seixal and Almada, or cross the Tagus to Lisbon, to see what nearby places are pouring.
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Frequently asked questions
In 1888 the Companhia de Vidros da Amora founded a bottle factory by the River Judeu which, according to the parish council, was the first of its kind in Portugal. Its first skilled workers came from England but were sent home after the British Ultimatum and replaced by 30 glassworkers from Hamburg.
Yes. Vineyards were the source of its wealth: in the 16th century Garcia de Resende and Gil Vicente praised the wine of Seixal, and Gaspar Frutuoso called it the best in the kingdom. The oldest settlement grew up at Cheira Ventos, once called Amora Velha, before the town spread towards the river.
In 1384, when the chronicler Fernão Lopes placed the galleys of the Master of Avis in the arm of the Tagus between Seixal, Arrentela and Amora during the wars with Castile. The parish council notes that the river has linked it with the rest of Seixal and with Lisbon since the Middle Ages.
The workers' housing built beside the 19th-century glass factory can still be seen; its workers founded a philharmonic society in 1898. For green space, head to the Paivas urban park. Amora, which became a city on 20 May 1993, lies on the south bank of the Tagus estuary, across from Lisbon.