Serra do Caramulo - the magical mountains of Portugal

Caramulo Gebirge

For our first own jewellery collection, we were inspired by a very special place in Portugal: the Serra do Caramulo. Around 100 kilometres from Porto lies the small town of Tondela, where this special Portuguese mountain range is located.

However, the place only became famous about 100 years ago, when the first sanatoriums of Caramulo opened and made the place one of the most famous resorts on the Iberian Peninsula. The reason for this, however, was not exclusively the breathtaking scenery that distinguishes the mountains, but the "fresh air" of Caramulo. Tuberculosis patients would travel long distances to breathe in the healing air of Caramulos and recover in the health resort of the time.

Caramulo Portugal

Over time, up to 20 sanatoriums opened in the Serra do Caramulo, which was said to have healing powers, and a model town with a unique infrastructure emerged. There was a sewage system, waste collection and even its own electricity grid, which attracted more doctors and pharmacists to live on site. Even the Portuguese dictator of the time, António Oliveira Salazar, who was a friend of the sanatorium founder Jerónimo Lacerda, frequently visited the Caramulo Mountains.

With the increasing eradication of tuberculosis in the 1970s, the magical place of Caramulo lost its importance and the sanatoriums were closed over time. What remained was a unique landscape that still attracts a million visitors to Caramulo every year. In addition, the Art Deco-influenced chapel of Nossa Senhora da Esperança and the famous Fonte dos Amores area are worth a visit.

Those who like old and fast cars should not miss the annual Caramulo Motor Festival. There you can see classic cars as well as real formula racing cars.


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