History
Caldas da Rainha was founded by Queen Leonor, wife of King João II. One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she found a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. She stopped to inquire about this oddity and was told that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them for herself. She was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of some affliction she had been suffering (exactly what is not known). On that site, the queen ordered a thermal hospital built so that others may enjoy the relief that she felt. Construction began the following year, 1485. Although the first patients were admitted in 1488, construction was not completed until about 1496 or 1497. The name of the settlement that grew up around the site (Caldas da Rainha), refers to both its founder and the reason for its existence.
On March 21, 1511, King Manuel conferred the status of town (Portuguese: vila) upon Caldas da Rainha. The town was elevated to the status of city (cidade) in September 1927.
In the early 20th century, it had a significant artistic and intellectual life. During World War II, in which Portugal was a neutral country, hundreds of Jewish refugees came to Caldas da Rainha to escape Nazism. During the war, Caldas also served as home to British and American airmen who landed or crashed in Portugal or off its coast.
In a prelude to the Carnation Revolution, on the night of March 15–16, 1974, the Fifth Infantry Regiment, based in Caldas da Rainha in what is now the Escola de Sargentos do Exército, attempted to stage a coup d'état against the country's authoritarian Estado Novo.
Caldas da Rainha's coat of arms was granted by Queen Leonor, before municipal coats of arms were typically used in Portugal. Because of its early introduction, several elements of the arms violate Portuguese heraldic standards. For example, Portuguese coat of arms typically feature a mural crown, made up of brick towers. Caldas da Rainha's arms feature a gold crown. The arms lack the typical banner bearing the municipality's name. The shield is much longer than the normal 8:7 ratio. The two smaller shields surrounding the main shield are also not in keeping with Portuguese heraldic rules.
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