The Art of Fortification - Elvas Hike
This is an easy circular Hike of 6.5 km (4 miles). Elvas has been a World Heritage Site since 2012 and the largest fortified city in the world. Known as the “Chave do Reino” it was the first defense against the Spaniards. Here we can find four lines of walls from the Islamic period up to the 17th century bulwark fortification. Around Elvas we have five Forts also from the 17th century. One of them is the "Forte da Graça" inside a huge hill, it was a Fort and also a Prision.
We’ll start our Hike at “Praça da República” the center of Elvas. This square was the target of a huge archaeological excavation to build an underground car park. We are inside de Medieval Town and inside the second Medieval wall. Here we’ll find the Cathedral of “Nossa Senhora da Assunção”. We can visit the largest Jewish Quarter in Portugal and the Synagogue. There’s also the church of the “Dominicanas” filled with tiles and built by the Knight Templar. We now enter the first Medieval Wall built in the Islamic period. This is the oldest part of Elvas where we can still see Islamic horseshoe portals. We pass by the pillory and continue to the Church of “Santa Maria” the old Mosque. We’ll walk by narrow streets with gothic doors all the way to the Castle. We can visit the Castle, the oldest defense of Elvas. Near the Church of “S João da Corujeira” we have the Cemetery for the English that helped Portugal against Napoleon. We'll descend from the Castle passing several military structures such as Barracks, Magazines and Workshops. We also have the Convent of S Paulo and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Conception. We leave the fortified city through a labyrinthic 17th century gate. Here we have the Amoreira Aqueduct with its 843 arches and 31 meters. In the background we'll see the Cemetery and the Convent of S. Francisco. We walk through the outskirts of Elvas, visiting the Padrão da Batalha das Linhas de Elvas and the abandoned Ermida de Santo Amaro. From a distance we can see the immense Forte da Graça and we go back to the fortified city. In the “Mouraria” we have the Church of S Pedro and the Convent of “S. Domingos”. Here we can visit the Military Museum and the 17th century barracks. We can also visit the Museum of Ethnography and Archeology. A Museum built in the “Assento” where bread was produced for the garrison of Elvas. From the Museum we'll go all the way up to the central square passing through S João de Deus, the old military Hospital.
