Assentiz: Hiking Routes and Historic Mills

Circular hiking trails, distinctive landforms and historic buildings offer three different themes for planning your trip to Assentiz. Two short circular trails are each 9 km long: PR5 TNV Fungalvaz and PR3 TNV Moinhos da Pena. Their equal lengths make them easy to compare; a duration of three hours is also given for PR5. Check the conditions for each route locally before setting out.

Two Circular Trails with Different Highlights

PR5 TNV Fungalvaz passes through the village area of Fungalvaz and follows the uppermost section of the Ribeira da Beselga. Its route therefore connects the village area with a stretch of the river.

PR3 TNV Moinhos da Pena crosses Chã da Serra, a plateau between the upland area of Arrife and the Serra de Aire anticline. Near the route, you can see the spring where the Ribeira do Alvorão originates and cross the Arrife escarpment. Along with its length and circular nature, these landscape features set it apart from PR5.

Landscape and Mills at Moinhos da Pena

Fórnea de Fungalvaz is an almost circular landform, about 100 metres wide and 60 metres high. It adds another perspective on the surroundings to the rivers and plateaus along the two circular trails.

PR3 passes through the area around the notable windmill complex of Moinhos da Pena. The complex comprises four windmills in the Freguesia de Assentiz. The mills stand on a hill formerly called Portela da Pena and were once used to grind grain. This connects the trail’s name to a specific historic purpose: the mills were once places of work, not merely a landscape feature. The hill’s former name and the processing of grain offer two distinct historical points of reference when visiting the complex.

Churches and Earlier Settlement History

The Igreja-matriz de Nossa Senhora da Purificação is Assentiz’s main church and is dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Purificação. The chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça offers another historical connection: since 1758, it has stood on the site of a former hermitage. The two buildings thus represent different religious landmarks: a main church and a chapel site with an earlier history.

The Igreja Paroquial de Assentis is a Mannerist and Baroque parish church with a bell tower attached to its façade. Inside, it has a wooden nave ceiling with three longitudinal sections and wall coverings of azulejos with a Neo-Baroque pattern. The façade, tower and interior offer different architectural features to look out for as you explore.

Fungalvaz also has a long history of settlement: it is considered an ancient settlement that was originally fortified. It may have been a castro dating from the Chalcolithic period, between 2,500 and 1,800 BC.

Discover more destinations: Ribeira Branca, Chancelaria, Torres Novas, Zibreira.

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