Description Alter do Chão

Alter do Chão is a Portuguese village belonging to the District of Portalegre, the region of Alentejo and the sub-region of Alto Alentejo, with about 2 300 inhabitants.

It is the seat of a municipality with an area of ??362.07 km² and 3 562 inhabitants (2011), subdivided into 4 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by Crato, to the southeast by Monforte, to the south by Fronteira, to the southwest by Avis and to the west by Ponte de Sor.

A calm and serene village, Alter do Chão's past dates back to Roman times.

It was then called Abelterium and the Termas do Ferragial d´El Rei or the Ponte da Vila Formosa are examples of the Roman remains in the region. From the century. XIV the village was developed from the castle, built by D. Pedro I in 1359, which continues to have an important presence since it is in the main square - Praça da República.

Currently, the municipality's great bet is its natural resources. Agriculture remains the main activity. In livestock, equine production is extremely important. Game tourism is also one of the major investments.

The Coudelaria Real, founded in 1748 by D. João V, contributed a lot to spread the name of the village. It was there that the recovery of the Portuguese breed Alter Real, a High School horse, began. The Alter do Chão Agricultural Professional School also operates there.