Évora Municipality

Évora
Municipality
From top to right: Igreja da Graça, Cathedral of Évora, Roman Temple of Évora, University of Évora
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 38°34′N 07°54′W / 38.567°N 7.900°W / 38.567; -7.900Coordinates: 38°34′N 07°54′W / 38.567°N 7.900°W / 38.567; -7.900
Country	Portugal
Region	Alentejo
Subregion	Alentejo Central
Intermunic. comm.	Alentejo Central
District	Évora
Parishes	12
Government
• President	Carlos Pinto de Sá (CDU)
Area
• Total	1,307.08 km2 (504.67 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	56,596
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	WET/WEST (UTC+0/+1)
Website	www.cm-evora.pt

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Historic Centre of Évora
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Location	Portugal
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	361
UNESCO region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1986 (10th Session)

Évora (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛvuɾɐ]) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 56,596, in an area of 1307.08 km². It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The present Mayor is Carlos Pinto de Sá of the CDU coalition. The municipal holiday is 29 June.

Due to its well-preserved old town centre, still partially enclosed by medieval walls, and a large number of monuments dating from various historical periods, including a Roman Temple, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.

Évora is ranked number two in the Portuguese most livable cities survey of living conditions published yearly by Expresso. It was ranked first in a study concerning competitiveness of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, according to a 2006 study made by Minho University economic researchers.

Évora has a history dating back more than five millennia.

It was known as Ebora by the Celtici, a tribal confederacy, south of the Lusitanians (and of Tagus river), who made the town their regional capital.

The etymological origin of the name Ebora is from the ancient Celtic word ebora/ebura, plural genitive of the word euros (yew), name of a species of tree, so its name means "of the yew trees." The city of York, in northern England, at the time of the Roman Empire, was called Eboracum/Eburacum, named after the ancient Celtic place name *Eborakon (Place of Yew Trees), so the old name of York is etymologically related to the city of Évora. Other two hypothesis of the origin of the name Évora is that the Romans had extensive gold mining in Portugal, and the name may be derived from that oro, aurum, (gold) and also may be named after ivory workers, but these two hypotheses are much less likely than the first one, because the name Évora has no relation with gold or with ivory in ancient Celtic, Latin or Portuguese languages or other languages, there is no etymological ground for these two hypotheses. It may have been capital of the kingdom of Astolpas.