Sacavém
Sacavém was a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Loures, district of Lisbon.
Sacavém is well known for its ceramics.
Geography
Located in the eastern part of the municipality of Loures, Sacavém borders the freguesias of Unhos (northwest), Camarate (west), Prior Velho (southwest), Portela (south) and Moscavide (southeast). It is bathed by the Tagus rivers (to the east) and Trancão, previously called the Sacavém river (to the north, it separates this freguesia from Bobadela).
Freguesia fairly urbanized, it is traditionally divided into Sacavém de Cima and Sacavém de Baixo, although new housing developments have recently sprung up in the city. Orographically, it is a slightly uneven space (it has only three elevations: the Monte do Convento, the Monte de Sintra and the Monte do Mocho), varying its altitude between zero and sixty meters.
In the past, the freguesia covered a much larger space, having lost, over time, jurisdiction over the neighboring freguesias of São João da Talha, Bobadela, Camarate, Prior Velho, Portela, Moscavide, and Santa Maria dos Olivais. Administratively, before being integrated into the Loures council, it formed part of the municipal area of the city of Lisbon, and later (1852-1886), of the Olivais council.
Demographics
Due to its strategic position within the Loures council and its proximity to the city of Lisbon, Sacavém always had optimal conditions for the establishment of new inhabitants and for the consequent population growth.
Since the modern censuses began, the number of inhabitants of the town has been increasing constantly, except for small occasional decreases caused by the separation of the freguesias of Moscavide, Portela and Prior Velho:
| Sacavém demographic evolution figure between 1864 and 2011 |
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Data according to the nomenclator published by the Portuguese INE. |
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Before the XIX century there is some scattered information, but as until then the current practice was to count the number of fires (and not inhabitants), the only thing that can be deduced is the approximate number of inhabitants.
History
Located at the crossroads of the roads that leave from the north and east towards Lisbon, Sacavém has been present in the History of Portugal on countless occasions.
It is a very old town, which already existed in Roman times, who built a stone bridge that remained standing until the century XVI (according to the account of Francisco de Holanda). Apparently, the place name of the town remained from Arab times, derived from the Arabic word (شقبان, Šaqabān); After the siege of Lisbon in 1147, a battle between the Christians and the Moors took place in this town.
During the Middle Ages, Sacavém was a land of royalty, in which large quantities of cereals and wine were produced; However, the territory was ceded by the monarchs under a usufruct regime on several occasions. In this way, Admiral Manuel Pessanha and Queen D. Leonor Teles, and later the Constable of Portugal Nuno Álvares Pereira enjoyed the income generated by the population. After the constable's death, possession passed to his grandson, the Count of Ourém, son of the Duke of Braganza. With the latter's death, leaving no heirs, the town became part of the extensive patrimony of the House of Braganza, to which it would belong until the fall of the monarchy (except during the reign of Juan II, who was executed and all his assets were confiscated).
According to some chronicles, Queen Felipa of Lancaster would have died in this town in 1415; the name of the town also appears in a document dating from the Age of Discovery, – the Letter of the Discovery of Brazil (1500), for having participated in the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the tax collector from Sacavém.
At the end of the XVI century, the governor of the kingdom, Miguel de Moura, ordered the construction of the Convent of Our Lady de los Mártires and de la Concepción de los Milagros (with the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Purificación attached), fulfilling a promise made years before.
During a great epidemic of the black plague, in 1599, an ancient image of the Virgin Mary was accidentally discovered, which, presumably having ended the plague, came to be venerated as Our Lady of Health.
Severely damaged during the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 (with the destruction of the main church and the last vestiges of the Roman bridge), Sacavém fell into decline for nearly a century, until around 1850, when it was industrialization began – where we must highlight the foundation of the Ceramic Factory and the passage of the railway through the town in 1856. This situation contributed to a sustained population increase, until the mid-70s of the century XX. This economic conversion to the tertiary sector led to the creation of many associations (highlighting the cooperative «A Sacavenense»).
In Sacavém the headquarters of the troops responsible for the fall of the First Republic were established, and in that same place the counter-coups were prepared that removed Mendes Cabeçadas and Gomes da Costa from power, and brought Óscar Carmona to power.
The development of the population led the political leaders to attribute the status of a town; This was one of the reasons why the discontented Sacavenenses fought against the dictatorial regime that emerged from 1926, highlighting the famous "greve dos rapazes" (men's strike) (1937) and the «marcha da fome» (hunger march) (1944).
After the Carnation Revolution and the restoration of the democratic regime in 1974, important events took place in Sacavém – especially the siege of the RALIS barracks, which at that time was integrated into the freguesia (it is currently in Portela). In 1983 the ceramic factory closed.
At the end of the 80s of the XX century, the freguesia gained its current geographical configuration, with the separation of Portela and Prior Velho.
On June 4, 1997, Sacavém saw all its potential value recognized, being elevated to the status of city. Months later, the Vasco da Gama Bridge was inaugurated, connecting Sacavém to Montijo, which would end up becoming a reference work in the town's urban landscape.
In 2000, the Sacavém Ceramics Museum was inaugurated, located in the remains of the old factory.
It was abolished on January 28, 2013, pursuant to a resolution of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic promulgated on January 16, 2013, when it merged with the freguesia of Prior Velho, forming the new freguesia of Sacavém and Prior Velho.
Origin of name
It is believed that the origin of the name of Sacavém is in the Arabic word šâqabî, which means “close” or “neighbor” (probably from the city of Lisbon, through corruption it would pass to called Šaqaban; which would end up being Latinized as Sacabis, whose accusative form would be Sacabem (relatively similar to the term used by the Moors) ending up being written as Sacavém However, there are other theories about the origin of the place name, which can be consulted in the article History of Sacavém.
Religion
Major Pattern
The main patron of the city is Our Lady of Candelaria (to whom the Mother Church of the same name in Sacavém de Baixo, next to the Trancão River, is consecrated). It is, however, a recent pattern, imposed on the freguesia, when the church of the convent became the mother church, by concession of the Patriarch of Lisbon Manuel Bento Rodrigues, in response to the request made by the parish council of Sacavém). Throughout the Middle Ages, the patron saint of the town was defined simply as Saint Mary.
Minor Patterns
One of the minor patron saints, Our Lady of Health (to whom the small sanctuary of Our Lady of Health and Saint Andrew is consecrated, in the historic center of Sacavém de Cima), being really the one that enjoys the greatest popular veneration, celebrating celebrations in its honor during the first Sunday of September.
The cult of Nuestra Señora de la Salud is due to the fact that it supposedly quelled a focus of the black plague in 1599 after the discovery of the image that is currently kept on the main altar of the chapel. The cult of San Andrés seems to be associated with the fact that, since the Middle Ages, there was a bottle factory next to the chapel whose protector would be precisely that saint.
Previous patterns
In ancient times in this freguesia the following patrons were worshiped:
- Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, who was worshipped in a small chapel that is believed to have existed already in the times of the Visigoths while remaining in Muslim domination, in the place where the present church of Our Lady of Victory is currently left.
- Nossa Senhora da Vitória, who was worshipped in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Vitória de Sacavém, currently in ruins, from the Middle Ages; from 1755 to 1863 was the Matrix Church until it became replaced by the Conventual Church in that statute. This Marian advocation would replace the worship of Our Lady two Prazeres.
- Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, who was worshipped in a hermitage that existed in the place where the convent is currently located, whose foundation is attributed to Alfonso I of Portugal, after the conquest of the area to the Moors in 1147. In 1577 it was demolished to be able to build the present convent.
- San Francisco, in a chapel that existed in the Largo da Saúdebuilt in 1766, and demolished in 1876, for being in a state of ruin.
Apart from these patrons, in Sacavém there were other chapels that belonged to individuals and were dedicated to San Antonio, Nuestra Señora de la Piedad, San Roque, the Holy Spirit, San Sebastián and San José, among others.
Ecclesiastical administration
From the point of view of ecclesiastical ownership, the parish priest of Sacavém has the dignity of Prior, the parish of Sacavém having been a collegiate church in the past. For this reason, the freguesia of Prior Velho has this name, since one of the priors of Sacavém lived in one of the farms in the area. For a long time, the prior of Sacavém was simultaneously parish priest of the neighboring populations (although civilly they were autonomous freguesias); Starting in the XX century, these freguesias were obtaining their own parish priests.
The parish of Nossa Senhora da Purificação de Sacavém belongs, since the reform promoted by Cardinal-Patriarch D. José Policarpo on June 11, 2006, to the Vicariate of Lisbon II, which included the other parishes in the eastern part of the Loures council, as well as several others in the north and center of Lisbon (Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Alta do Lumiar, Nossa Senhora da Encarnação da Ameixoeira, Nossa Senhora da Encarnação da Apelação, São Bartolomeu do Beato, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios da Bobadela, Santiago Maior de Camarate, São Bartolomeu da Charneca, São Félix de Chelas, São João Baptista do Lumiar, Santo Agostinho de Marvila, Santo António de Moscavide, Santa Maria dos Olivais, Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Olivais-Sul, Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes do Parque das Nações, Cristo-Rei da Portela de Sacavém, São Pedro do Prior Velho, Nossa Senhora da Purificação de Sacavém, Santa Beatriz da Silva, Santa Iria de Azóia, Santo Eugénio da Encarnação, São João da Talha, Nossa Senhora da Porta do Céu de Telheiras, São Silvestre de Unhos and São Maximiliano Kolbe do Vale de Chelas). Until that day, it was part of the Vicariate of Sacavém, which was made up of the parishes of Apelação, Bobadela, Camarate, Prior Velho, Sacavém, São João da Talha, Santa Iria de Azóia and Unhos, being that of Sacavém the parish seat of the vicar.
In the administrative organization of the Catholic Church, the Vicariate II of Lisbon falls within the framework of the Archdiocese/Patriarchate of Lisbon.
Brotherhoods, confraternities and institutes of religious life
In Sacavém there is still the Confraria do Santíssimo Sacramento and the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Saúde, the latter being of particular importance within the framework of popular devotion to Virgin of Health.
In addition to that, Sacavém hosts in its territory the Social Center of Nossa Senhora das Graças, supervised by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Our Lady, located in Quinta de São João das Areias, just on the border with Camarate.
Economic activities
Until the XX century, the main economic activity of the Sacavenense territory was agriculture. Industrialization began in the second half of that century, highlighting the impetus given by the creation of the ceramic factory. From the second half of the XX century, with the decline of industrial activity in the region, the tertiary sector was gaining importance, there are many stores dedicated to small businesses and, on a smaller scale, to services. However, there are still some industries (such as the ink and cleaning products factory) and some orchards.
Fairs, markets, and other festivities
In the past, Sacavém had three annual fairs: the first on Holy Spirit Sunday, the second on August 14, and the third on September 14. Each lasted 3 days. The Holy Spirit fair became one of the busiest in the Lisbon District, being held on the first Sunday of September, to coincide with the celebrations in honor of Our Lady of Health.
In Sacavém, an important cattle market was held on the third Sunday of each month. The first market was held in 1887. This market was held on the land of São Bartolomeu da Charneca; until this freguesias became part of the Lisbon council. Because cattle markets were prohibited in the Portuguese capital, the last president of the Olivais council decided to transfer that market to the nearest place outside the capital council, Sacavém being the chosen place.
Currently, in Sacavém the Levante Market is held every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday morning. This market takes place on one of the access viaducts to the Vasco da Gama Bridge, on paved ground.
Communications and transportation
From the point of view of communications, Sacavém is crossed by an important road network, highlighting the roads IC2 (Itinerario Complementario 2), which joins Sacavém and Santa Iría of Azóia), the IC17 (Itinerario Complementario 17, also known as Cinture Rodoviária Interna de Lisboa, which creates the junction – still incomplete by the absence of the Buraca/Pontinha section – between Sacavém and Algés), the A1 (Auto-Estrada do Norte, which links Lisbon and Porto), the EN10 (Variant to Estrada Nacional 10, which links Sacavém to Vila Franca de Xira), the EN250 (Estrada Nacional 250, which Sacavém link to the council headquarters, Loures), as well as other accesses to the Vasco da Gama Bridge. Until 1998, Sacavém had a direct connection with the Second Circular of Lisbon, lost due to the construction works of sections of the CRIL and the connections with the Vasco da Gama Bridge.
As for the means of transport, in Sacavém the CP - Comboios de Portugal trains provide their services, through a station integrated into the Azambuja line (first section of the North, which links Porto and Lisbon, whose opening of the initial section dates back to 1856); There is also a dense network of collective public transport, served by the company Rodoviária de Lisboa, which connects the city with the capital as well as with other freguesias such as Alverca do Ribatejo, Apelação, Bobadela, Camarate, Catujal, Charneca, Frielas, Loures, Moscavide, Pirescoxe, Portela de Sacavém, Póvoa de Santa Iria, Prior Velho, Santa Iría de Azóia, São João da Talha, Unhos and Via Rara.
Currently, the possibility is being considered for the Lisbon tram company, Carris, to extend its lines from the current headwaters of Moscavide and Portela to Sacavém, to facilitate access to the center of the capital. The inauguration of the extension of the red line of the Lisbon Metro (whose terminal station is Estación de Oriente) to Moscavide, Portela and Sacavém is also planned, although the works have not yet begun. Portela Airport is located one kilometer from the freguesia.
Heritage
Currently, none of the elements that make up the historical heritage of Sacavém are protected; In some cases studies are being carried out while in others the procedures for their protection have not yet begun.
| Designation | Category | Type | Degree | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel (or Sanctuary) of Nossa Senhora da Saúde and of Santo André | Religious architecture | Chapel (chuckles) | In study | - |
| Convent of Nossa Senhora dos Mártires e da Conceição dos Milagres | Religious architecture | Convent | In study | - |
| Pavilion in the garden of the Praça da República | Civil architecture | Pavilion | Without qualifying | - | |
| Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Purificação (Matriz) | Religious architecture | Church | In study | - |
.jpg){kind=small} | Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Vitória (ruins) | Religious architecture | Church (Chapter) | In study | - |
 | Pencil in the Calle Almirante Reiswith the epigraphic inscription: † I AS AVANTE 1652 | Archaeology | Pencil | Without qualifying | - |
| Sacavém Bridge | Civil architecture | Bridge | Without qualifying | - |
| Puente Vasco da Gama | Civil architecture | Bridge | Without qualifying | - |
 | Quinta de São José | Civil architecture | Fifth | Without qualifying | - |
 | Quinta de São Luís e São José | Civil architecture | Fifth | Without qualifying | - |
| Quinta do Mercador | Civil architecture | Fifth | ? | - | |
| Quinta do Olival da Vitória or Palacete Braamcamp (ruins) | Civil architecture | Palace | In study | - | |
 | Reduct of Mount Sintra / Fort of Sacavém | Military architecture | Strong. | Without qualifying | - |
 | Sifón del Canal de Alviela | Civil architecture | Aqueduct | ? | - |
Twinned parishes
The twinning of freguesias is an agreement similar to the Twinning of cities that the Portuguese freguesias carry out among themselves. Currently, Sacavém is twinned with:
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Museums
Currently, two important cultural spaces function in Sacavém, which commemorate the ancient ceramic production of the town:
- the Sacavém Ceramic Museumin the place where the Factory of Lozas was previously located;
- the House - José Pedro Museum (a famous Ceramist Operator of the city).
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