Silves, Portugal

City of Silves
Coordinates: 37°11′13″N 8°26′20″W / 37.18694°N 8.43889°W / 37.18694; -8.43889
Country Portugal
RegionAlgarve
Intermunic. comm.Algarve
DistrictFaro
Parishes6
Government
  PresidentRosa Palma (CDU)
Area
  Total
680.06 km2 (262.57 sq mi)
Elevation
34 m (112 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2011)
  Total
37,126
  Density55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+00:00 (WET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Websitehttp://www.cm-silves.pt

Silves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsiɫ.vɨʃ] ), officially the City of Silves (Portuguese: Cidade de Silves), is a city and municipality in the Portuguese region of Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the entire municipality of Silves in 2011 was 37,126, in an area of 680.06 km2. The urbanized area of the city proper has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Silves is the former capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve (1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal (1139–1910), and is of great historical importance.