Almeida II

Almeida is a fortified village and a municipality in the sub-region of Beira Interior Norte and the District of Guarda, Portugal. It is located in Riba-Côa river valley. The town proper has a population of 1,300 people (2011). in an area of 517.98 square kilometres The village lies 7.2 kilometres west of the border with Spain and straddles the N332 road. The town's castle fortress was completed in 1641 and is located to the north of the village whose access is through the two tunnel gates and dry moat named the Portas de São Francisco.In and around the environment of Almeida, evidence of Human occupation can be found back to the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Evidence has also been found of Roman occupation followed by the Suevi and the Visigoths. The first fortification constructed in the settlement were constructed by the Muslims who occupied the village until Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was during this time that the current name was first used, in the form of the Arabic al-Ma'ida ('the plateau').