Pousada

Pousada History

Condeixa-a-Nova Pousada belonged to the Almadas Family and was built in the XVI century. For many years this estate received and entertained European nobleness. In the first half of the 19th century the palace was transformed into an inn, subsequently turned into an orphanage for poor children and asylum for old age.

The Palace was completely reconstructed and turned into a beautiful Pousada. The pousada was named Santa Cristina, after a young roman girl of the outskirts of Bolsano, in Tuscani, which after being baptized refused to sacrifice herself to a statue of Apolo. The girls father, who wanted to force her to believe under the Gods' cult, ordered her to be tortured by his slaves. After, she was tied to a wheel that broke with a miracle, killing the cruel men. Still not satisfied, they tied one of her hands to the neck and made her get in a boat and launched into the lake of Bolsando, so that she would disappear. But, once more, she survived holding to the millstone that floated instead of sinking. Jesus Christ came down through Arcanjo Miguel, who gave her a hand getting back to land. After her father’s death, the persecution was worse. They placed her in an oil boiler, then in a furnace where she was kept for five days, like three young Hebrews in Daniel’s book, singing with the angels. But everything was to no avail. She was even bitten by poisonous serpents and her breasts and tongue were sliced, what did not stop her to speak and, throwing it to the eyes of the judge, he became immediately blind. The arrows shot against her turned over against the archers. Santa Cristina supported all these horrible punishments at only twelve years of age. These incredible scenes, that with so many excesses almost seems a comedy, origins in elements of the legend of Santa Barbara, Santa Catarina and Santa Ursula. Saint Barbara was pursued by a father who ordered her to be incarcerated in a tower. Santa Catarina was tied to a wheel and left there. Ursula suffered the arrows punishment.

The popularity of Santa Cristina the Saint, arises form the geographical situation of Bolsano, a pilgrims route of which she was patroness. The pilgrims on their way to the "perpetual city", would not forget to stop in Bolsano to pray on her tomb.

In Condeixa, people pray for Santa Cristina since king D.Manuel I dedicated the church construction in 1502. The day chosen on her memory was the 24 of July, based on the liturgical calendar, a municipal holiday.

History of Condeixa

The Condeixa-a-Nova Village is situated in the coastal band of the central region of the country, 192km north of Lisbon, 120km south of Porto and 12km from Coimbra, the main city of the central region. It belongs to the province of the coastal side and district of Coimbra.

Condeixa-a-Nova reached its administrative emancipation in middle of séc. XIX, with the letter of law from queen D. Maria II published on 17th of April 1838.
The county was constituted of 9 cities: Anobra, Belide, Bendafe, Condeixa-a-Nova, Condeixa-a-Velha, Ega, Furadouro, Sebal and Dry Village. Rodrigo Fonseca Magalhaes was the person responsible for the emancipation of the village.

On March 6th, 1852, the county of Rabacal was extincted, and the following towns and villages are transferred to the county of Condeixa: Alvorge, Rabacal and Zambujal. The county currently called Condeixa-a-Nova occupies a total area of 135 km2 and possesses a population of 15340 inhabitants (Censuses 2001).

Some of the populations are situated in the heart of the mountain. Agricultural is the most important activity and source of income for the habitants of this county. More recently, and due to excellent geographic localization, the implantation of industrial units has been accented.