Praia Da Luz - History

History

Historians Estácio da Veiga and José da Encarnação have proved that settlements of Luz have existed for millennia, and that many cultures have crossed the territory. At the end of the 19th century, various castros were discovered in the area of Serro Grande, that included various funerary tombs with galleries, dating to the Neolithic period. In these sites there were vestiges of Neolithic implements, artefacts from the Iron Age, as well as a rock axe that was discovered in Espiche. The existence of human artefacts and shell mounds in the area is a constant, suggesting a human presence before organized civilization.

The Romans left behind the remnants of a spa, which represents one of the more important archaeological discoveries of the modern municipality. Following the decline of the Pax Romana, the Algarve began to be threatened by peoples from the lands of ancient Morocco. The Arabs brought with them many of the fruit orchards that continue to exist in the foothills of Luz. Moorish rule in the Algarve resulted in the assimilation of the indigenous cultures, transforming the region into a major economic power.

The Christian conquest and Reconquista resulted in the expulsion of the Moors from the Algarve, in the institutionalization of Christianity and the building of churches. During the Middle Ages, the parish was officially referred to as Nossa Senhora da Luz.

King Manuel I, through his 1 June 1504 foral, recognized the importance of Lagos, in the Kingdom of the Algarve, for the quantity of fish catches at the time (primarily of tuna and sardine caught in Luz). Three factories eventually developed in the region, the most recent developing in 1884, which served to conserve fish in olive oil, preceding the salting of sardine in the same fashion. These factories supported 100 workers, with the majority (60) women. Much later, another factory, in Espiche, was also constructed (but today only the ruins remain). Luz was also a major producer of figs (regularly exported to the fine sweets industry that developed), while wheat and barley were being cultivated in many of the parcels around the parish seat.

Much like many of the coastal communities of Portugal, Luz was susceptible to attacks by pirates from the North of Africa. Luz was frequently attacked by Moors, who plied the water of the Algarve, attacked small settlements, and pillaged the treasures of the churches and homes of its residences. The priest Vicente Benevides noted that the original image of Nossa Senhora da Luz was taken by the Moors in one of those raids. Forces loyal to the King discovered the image, and the King returned it to Luz, where he ordered the construction of a fortress to safeguard the image and protect the community. Within the fortress, a tower was constructed in 1624 and a wall was later added to circle the fortress, by the then Captain-General of the Kingdom of the Algarve, the Count of Pontével.

The parish of Luz was formally constituted in 1673. The origins of the settlement date to the construction of a fortress in the area of Luz, and the presence of fishermen along the coast, especially after the establishment of an industry in the 15th and 16th centuries, when sardine fishing employed around 90 men.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the parish of Luz was de-annexed from the main parish of Santa Maria.

The use of the name Praia da Luz is actually a recent trend in the vernacular. Introduced by sunbathers, it was first recorded in 1928, and its use increased rapidly in the second half of the 20th century, with the tourist influx. Yet there still remains a distinction between the modern civil parish of Luz, and the medieval centre, which latter includes the historical village.

Praia da Luz became more familiar to the international public in 2007, when on 3 May Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday flat, as her parents ate at a nearby tapas restaurant.