Vines, megaliths and Monsaraz: Reguengos de Monsaraz

Reguengos de Monsaraz is known for wine, with about 1 million vines planted in the late 19th century. Read on for the hilltop walled village of Monsaraz, 276 megalithic monuments, more than twenty potteries in São Pedro do Corval and a city born from two villages.

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Around the 18th century, Reguengos was split into two villages, Reguengos de Cima and Reguengos de Baixo, the latter with a hermitage dedicated to Saint Anthony. Shepherding, wool-making and vineyards helped the villages grow, and in 1752 the new parish of Santo António dos Reguengos was created. On 17 April 1838 the seat of the municipality first moved from Monsaraz to Reguengos; Queen Maria II created Vila Nova dos Reguengos by charter in 1840, and the dispute with Monsaraz only ended in 1851, when the seat settled here for good. Under mayor Manuel Augusto Mendes Papança, new streets were laid out and the centre moved to Praça da Liberdade, with the new town hall opened in 1869. Reguengos de Monsaraz became a city on 9 December 2004. Wine shapes the story too. In the late 19th century, Papança formed a committee of landowners to buy land from the House of Braganza, divide it into plots and sell them cheaply on condition that vines were planted, which led to about 1 million vines going into the ground. When phylloxera reached the vineyards in June 1893, Joaquim Rojão set up a local anti-phylloxera vigilance committee. Grape varieties used here include Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Aragonez, Antão Vaz and Roupeiro. The hilltop village of Monsaraz was taken by Geraldo Sem Pavor in 1167, lost in 1173 and finally incorporated under Christian rule in 1232 by Sancho II with the help of the Templars; it received charters in 1276 and 1512, and Vauban-style walls were built around its castle after 1640. Across the municipality, more than 1500 archaeological sites and a set of 276 megalithic monuments, from dolmens to cromlechs and menhirs, record human presence going back more than 6000 years. In São Pedro do Corval, more than twenty potteries keep working with local clay, in a ceramic tradition dating back to prehistoric times.

Craft beer in Reguengos de Monsaraz is still a rare find, so it is worth asking locally before you set out.

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Frequently asked questions

In the late 19th century, mayor Papança formed a committee of landowners to buy land from the House of Braganza, divide it into plots and sell them cheaply on condition that vines were planted, which led to about 1 million vines going into the ground. Grape varieties include Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Aragonez, Antão Vaz and Roupeiro.

The hilltop village of Monsaraz was taken by Geraldo Sem Pavor in 1167, lost in 1173 and finally brought under Christian rule in 1232 by Sancho II with the help of the Templars. It received charters in 1276 and 1512, and Vauban-style walls were built around its castle after 1640.

Yes, across the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, more than 1500 archaeological sites and a set of 276 megalithic monuments, from dolmens to cromlechs and menhirs, record human presence going back more than 6000 years. In São Pedro do Corval, more than twenty potteries keep working with local clay.