Câmara dos Lobos | |||
Municipality (Concelho) | |||
Câmara de Lobos, looking towards Pico da Torre, showing some houses and artesnal port
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Official name: Concelho da Câmara de Lobos | |||
Name origin: lobos, from lobos-marinhos, Portuguese for sea-lions | |||
Country | Portugal | ||
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Autonomous Region | Madeira | ||
Island | Madeira | ||
Municipality | Câmara de Lobos | ||
Civil Parishes | Câmara de Lobos, Curral das Freiras, Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, Jardim da Serra, Quinta Grande | ||
Landmark | Pico da Torre | ||
Center | Boca dos Namorados | ||
- elevation | 1,044 m (3,425 ft) | ||
- coordinates | |||
Lowest point | Sea level | ||
- location | Atlantic Ocean | ||
- elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||
Area | 51.82 km2 (20 sq mi) | ||
Population | 34,614 (2001) | ||
Density | 667.96 / km2 (1,730 / sq mi) | ||
Settlement | c. 1419 | ||
- Municipality | 4 October 1835 | ||
- City | 3 August 1996 | ||
LAU | Concelho/Câmara Municipal | ||
- location | Praça da Autonomia, Câmara de Lobos, Madeira | ||
President | Arlindo Pinto Gomes (PSD) | ||
Municipal Chair | Rui Agostinho Gouveia Fernandes (PSD) | ||
Timezone | WET (UTC0) | ||
- summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) | ||
ISO 3166-2 code | PT- | ||
Postal Zone | 9304-001 Câmara de Lobos | ||
Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 291 XXX XXX | ||
Demonym | Madeirense; Câmara-lobense | ||
Patron Saint | São Sebastião | ||
Municipal Address | Praça da Autonomia 304-001 Câmara de Lobos |
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Municipal Holidays | 16 October | ||
Administrative location of the municipality of Câmara de Lobos in the archipelago of Madeira
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Wikimedia Commons: Câmara de Lobos | |||
Website: http://www.cm-camaradelobos.pt | |||
Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010) |
Câmara de Lobos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkɐmɐɾɐ ðɨ ˈloβuʃ]; literally, Portuguese: chamber of the wolves is a municipality, parish and city in the south-central coast of the island of Madeira. A suburb of the, much larger, capital, it is nonetheless one of the larger population centres and extension of the economy of Funchal.
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The location of the modern town is believed to be the original landing point for the Portuguese discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco, who is credited with the discovery of the Madeira Islands. When the explorer disembarked in this area (1419), he observed a thin cliff that extended into the ocean, and another cliff face that formed an amphitheatre-like harbour that could shelter ships from Atlantic storms. There Zarco and his men also found a large colony of marine animals that would become the reason for naming this area Câmara de Lobos.. The name, lobos, is a Portuguese derivation for sea-lions (Portuguese: lobos-marinhos), which were the animals discovered by Zarco and his men in the sheltered bay. Because of the large colony of these animals, the area was baptised câmara dos lobos.[1] This was a pejorative term, since câmara is the Portuguese word for municipal chamber (sometimes erroneously referred to as the city hall or city council), and the sailors named the area, literally as, the Municipal chamber of [the place where there are] Sea-Lions. Today, the species of monk seals (Latin: monachus monachus) are rare, being an animal common to the Mediterranean, but today confined to a small colony on the Desertas Islands.[2]
The municipality was created by ministerial decree on 25 May 1835, and invested in its executive on the 4 October 1835. Initially, this administrative division included the parishes of Câmara de Lobos, Curral das Freiras, Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and Campanário, all territorial parts of the Funchal. With many alterations, the newly constituted municipality of Câmara de Lobos operated with those parishes as its core, until Quinta Grande was constituted from sites in the parishes of Campanário and Câmara de Lobos, but maintaining its total area. On 6 May 1914, Campanário is deannexed to the newly created municipality of Ribeira Brava, and on 5 July 1996, the parish of Jardim da Serra was constituted from the higher altitude localities of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos.
On 15 September 1994, the parish of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos was elevated to the status of town, while two years later, on 3 August 1996, the village of Câmara de Lobos attained the status of city.
Câmara de Lobos is the second largest city by population in Madeira with the largest (45%) contribution of youth under 25 years. Located within the metropolitan zone of Funchal, it is limited to the east by Funchal (through the parish of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos); to the west by the municipality of Ribeira Brava and the steep cliffs of Cabo Girão (one of the highest cliffs in Europe: 580 meter elevation); and north by the municipalities of Santana and São Vicente (and the mountains of Pico de Arieiro); while fronting the Atlantic Ocean to the south (except an area in the southwest near Quinta Grande (Fajã dos Padres) whose coast is part of the neighbouring parish of Campanário in Ribeira Brava
The decree of 1955 (No.40.221/5 July 1955) defines these limits more explicitly. but allows for interpretations:
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The municipality of Câmara de Lobos, in accord with the 2001 census, has a population of 30,814, while its resident population is 31,476 inhabitants (47% to 53%, male to female composition). While 22.7% are seniors (the lowest percentage in Maderia), its active population represents 10,986 of the population.
There are five parishes that constitute the municipality of Câmara de Lobos:
Câmara de Lobos is twinned[4] with:
Although agriculture and fishing are still considered the primary sources of income, the area has grown as an extension of the tourism industry in the neighboring parishes. Its local development prospects are tied to the growing tourist market, while for six centuries of history it has been associated with the fishing and agriculture, in particular bananas and other fruits common to the island. Further, Madeira Wine, an important industry on the island, continues to drive the cultivation of local vineyards.
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