Vilar Formoso

Vilar Formoso is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Almeida, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,219,[1] in an area of 15.14 km².[2] One of the most important crossings on the Portugal–Spain border is located just next to the town.

Vilar Formoso
Civil parish
Flag Coat of arms
Vilar Formoso Location in Portugal
Coordinates: 40.608°N 6.830°W
Country	Portugal
Region	Centro
Intermunic. comm.	Beiras e Serra da Estrela
District	Guarda
Municipality	Almeida
Area
• Total	15.14 km^2 (5.85 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	2,219
• Density	150/km^2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)

Vilar Formoso has a railroad station where the Lisbon-Hendaye express stops daily. The station is covered with tile murals depicting scenes from all over Portugal, including a rare skiing scene.

History

Portugal and Spain signed the Schengen Agreement in June 1991 which came into effect on 26 March 1995, making Portugal and Spain part of the Schengen area and thus the border then became an Open border, making travel between countries of the European Union unrestricted, the customs booths became unmanned and traffic passed through freely.[3]

On the 16 March 2020 Portugal and Spain reintroduced border checks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with tourists unable to cross, but allowing cross border workers and goods to pass.[4] The checks are planned until May 15 2020.[5]

• 
  Fountain near the customs building, on the Portugal—Spain border
• 
  Mosaic depicting skiing, on north side of Vilar Formoso train station

References

1. Instituto Nacional de Estatística
2. Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
3. "The Schengen area - PDF by EU" (PDF). Retrieved 28 April 2017.
4. "Coronavirus: What you need to know about Spain closing its borders". Retrieved 18 March 2020.
5. "Border with Spain to remain closed". Retrieved 18 April 2020.