Real Fábrica de Gelo da Serra de Montejunto - Portugal
Posted by: 
tmob
N 39° 10.690 W 009° 03.012
29S E 495664 N 4336549
The Royal Ice Factory, also known as the Snow Factory of Montejunto Mountains, is unique in the country, and one of the rare examples of its kind in Europe and in terms of technology, at the time, one of the most advanced.
Waymark Code: WMDKBP
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 01/25/2012
Views: 5
It is thought that has been the court of Filipe II (late sixteenth century) to disseminate and establish the habit of enjoying ice cream or cold drink during the months of summer in Portugal.
Considering that there were no modern cooling technologies, the use of snow and ice presented itself as the only option available. Thus, there was a growing demand on this scarce and valuable asset, as well as its marketing.
Being located approximately 40 km from Lisbon and the Tagus river nearby, which then constituted a privileged access to the capital, Serra do Montejunto had great advantages over the Serra do Coentral, then the center of snow supply.
The Royal Ice Factory has been built around 1741, and cost between 40000 and 45000 Cruzados, megalomaniacal expense for the period. Its construction had as its main objective to eliminate the systematic failures recorded in the Serra do Coentral supplies.
Almost everything we know about the activities of the Royal Ice Factory is due to the oral tradition, particularly the testimony of descendants of people who worked in the manufacture of ice.
It is said that when he got to the month of September the tanks were filled with shallow water and at night it was expected that it freeze with the cold. When ice was formed, the guard at the factory went on horseback to the village of Pragança and with a horn, awoke the workers.
Before sunrise, working hard, the ice sheets were broken, the fragments piled up and then loaded into storage silos, where the ice was kept until the arrival of summer
In hot weather, resulted the complicated task of transport to the capital of the kingdom. First the ice was transported on the backs of animals, to overcome the steep slope of the mountain.
Then followed, as soon as possible, to the "snow boats" moored in the Vala do Carregado. These boats completed the circuit of the ice, carried him to Lisbon, the capital of the kingdom.
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