Limestone, climate and Lisbon within sight in Serra de Montejunto: the history of a place

Two and a half leagues from Alenquer and facing north, lies the mountain range that today is called Montejunto. In ancient times it was called Monte Sacro, and also Monte Tagro… It was named after a single pile of stone, or a single stone, rather than a mountain range.
—Frei Luís de Sousa (17th century)
 

Serra de Montejunto is part of the Montejunto-Estrela System and belongs to Maciço Calcário Estremenho*. It is the highest natural viewpoint in Estremadura, with 666 meters of altitude.

From a geological point of view, it is mainly made up of limestone rock, visible in the steep valleys, small plateaus, imposing cliffs and scarps. The limestone rock has an enormous capacity for absorbing rainwater, creating an abundance of sinkholes, caves and residual ponds.

From a climatic point of view, the area where this pre-industrial complex was installed had the best conditions for the production and conservation of ice: facing the Atlantic coast, it suffers the direct and intense action of the oceanic winds, wet and icy, which influences water circulation, vegetation and the morphology of the territory itself.

Finally, its strategic location: about 60 kilometres from Lisbon, the Royal Ice Factory established important industrial, economic and social links between Serra de Montejunto, the Tagus estuary and the capital.

Perspetiva do alto da Serra de Montejunto. Fotografia LMF Coelho

View from the top of Serra de Montejunto.
Photography LMF Coelho

Mapa de Portugal, onde se pode visualizar o contínuo geográfico com a cordilheira da Serra da Estrela.

Map of Portugal, showing the geographical continuity with the Serra da Estrela mountain chain.

Mapa do Concelho do Cadaval (cerca de 1951). Museu Municipal do Cadaval.

Map of the Municipality of Cadaval (circa 1951). Municipal Museum of Cadaval.

Snow and natural ice as products

Location of snow wells of Portugal /Spain /France

Alçado dos poços da Fábrica do Gelo da Serra de Montejunto (século XVIII).

Elevation of the wells of Serra de Montejunto’s Ice Factory (18th century).

Corte de poço de gelo na Catalunha, Espanha (século XVIII).

Cross section of an ice well in Gyeongju, South Korea (18th century).

Corte de poço de gelo em Abantos, Espanha (século XVIII).

Cross section of an ice well in Can Donadéu, Catalonia, Spain (18th century).

Corte de poço de gelo em Can Donadéu, Catalunha, Espanha (século XVIII).

Cross section of an ice well in Abantos, Spain (18th century).

Corte de poço de gelo em Gyeongju, na Coreia do Sul (século XVIII).

Cross section of an ice well in Catalonia, Spain (18th century).

Corte de poço de gelo em França (século XIX).

Cross section of an ice well in France (19th century).