Olivenza: The Town Portugal Still Claims
Extremadura, Spain
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Olivenza
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275
XP
+100 Spain
= 375 total
1 day
Olivenza: The Town Portugal Still Claims
275 + 100 XP
Castile transferred Olivenza to Portugal under the Treaty of Alcañices in 1297, and it stayed Portuguese for five hundred years — until Spain occupied it in the War of the Oranges in 1801 and the Treaty of Badajoz confirmed it the same year. Portugal has never formally accepted the transfer, so the sovereignty of Olivenza is technically still disputed. What it left behind is a Spanish town of Portuguese buildings: Manueline architecture, azulejos, a Portuguese-built castle keep, and a street layout that is not Spanish at all.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Find the Manueline doorways and windows and work out that this is Portuguese architecture in Spain
2
of 5
Work out the sequence: Portuguese from 1297, Spanish from 1801, and still formally disputed
3
of 5
Climb the castle keep, which the Portuguese built, for the view to the Guadiana and the border
4
of 5
Go into Santa María Magdalena, which is Manueline and unlike any other church in Extremadura
5
of 5
Listen for oliventino, the local Portuguese still spoken by older people in the villages round about
Find the Manueline doorways and windows and work out that this is Portuguese architecture in Spain
Work out the sequence: Portuguese from 1297, Spanish from 1801, and still formally disputed
Climb the castle keep, which the Portuguese built, for the view to the Guadiana and the border
Go into Santa María Magdalena, which is Manueline and unlike any other church in Extremadura
Listen for oliventino, the local Portuguese still spoken by older people in the villages round about
Before you go
Badajoz province summers are extremely hot.
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About Extremadura
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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