Sertã (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɨɾˈtɐ̃] ⓘ), officially Town of Sertã (Portuguese: Vila da Sertã), is a municipality in Castelo Branco District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,880, in an area of 446.73 km2.

The present mayor is Carlos Miranda, elected by the PS. The municipal holiday is the June 24.

Population of Sertã (1801 – 2011)
180118491900193019601981199120012011
102351345620380240572799721503181991672015880

Etymology

The town's name literally means "frying pan", but is near-certainly a phono-semantic matching of a pre-Roman toponym. This hasn't stopped the creation of all manner of folk etymological legends seeking to explain name of the town, the most famous of which is the so-called "Legend of Celinda", supposedly a Lusitanian woman who had been frying eggs while the settlement was under attack by Quintus Sertorius' forces and, upon learning of her husband's death, poured boiling hot cooking oil on the besiegers. This story has lent the town its name Sartago Sternit Sartagine Hostes (lit.'Sertã scatters its enemies with a sertã').

General information

Local sports club: Sertanense Futebol Clube (mainly devoted to soccer, playing (2004-2005) the 3rd Division Championship).

Local newspaper: A Comarca da Sertã (weekly)

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 10 civil parishes (freguesias):

Parish name Population (2011) Area km2 Cabeçudo 957 10.39 Carvalhal 465 10.02 Castelo 1,046 24.57 Cernache do Bonjardim, Nesperal e Palhais 3,625 101.58 Cumeada e Marmeleiro 731 51.73 Ermida e Figueiredo 423 42.74 Pedrógão Pequeno 753 36.86 Sertã 6,196 80.95 Troviscal 864 53.37 Várzea dos Cavaleiros 820 34.51

Notable people