The village of Aljubarrota has its name associated with the famous battle that gave victory to King D. João I, on August 14, 1385, against the invader of Castile. The Battle of Aljubarrota was one of the most important battles that took place throughout medieval times in Europe and became one of the strongest symbols of independence, cohesion and national pride.
The town’s urban fabric denounces a medieval matrix replicated over the following centuries. Rua Direita emerges as the structuring axis that gives an elongated shape to the village. It is a very typical phenomenon of places that grew in a linear fashion, along the paths traveled by muleteers and pilgrims in search of Santiago de Compostela by one of the various Portuguese routes. In the case of Aljubarrota, the narrow plateau where the village is located also contributed to this urban plan. On the sides of Rua Direita, secondary streets draw serpentine paths, sometimes narrow, delimited by the facades and by many blank whitewashed walls that hide interior courtyards. The current cluster retains a considerable homogeneity, expressed in the layout of the streets and in the many buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries that make use of stonework, columns and windows of various geometries. The buildings have harmonious volumes, with a maximum of one floor above the ground floor. This portrait of Aljubarrota takes us back to a culture with clear Mediterranean roots, even if, from the plateau, it is the Atlantic that marks the horizon.
According to memory, the Baker of Aljubarrota, whose name is Brites de Almeida, killed seven Castilians who had taken refuge in her oven, after the Portuguese victory in Aljubarrota.
The baker became one of the strongest and strongest symbols of Portuguese women’s independence, determination and courage, representing the patriotic ardor of the people of Aljubarrota.
In the center of the village, there is a statue in his honor by the sculptor José Aurélio.
Source: https://www.jf-aljubarrota.pt/pt_pt/history
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