Tomar

Tomar
Municipality
View of the town of Tomar and the Nabão river
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 39°36′N 8°25′W / 39.600°N 8.417°W / 39.600; -8.417
Country	Portugal
Region	Centro
Intermunic. comm.	Médio Tejo
District	Santarém
Parishes	11
Government
• President	Anabela Freitas (PS)
Area
• Total	351.20 km2 (135.60 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	40,677
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Local holiday	March 1
Website	http://www.cm-tomar.pt

Tomar (Portuguese pronunciation: [tuˈmaɾ] ^ⓘ), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar),^[1] is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677,^[2] in an area of 351.20 km² (135.60 sq mi).^[3]

The town of Tomar was created inside the walls of the Convento de Cristo, constructed under the orders of Gualdim de Pais, the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar in Portugal in the late 12th century.

Tomar was the last Templar town to be commissioned for construction and one of Portugal's historical jewels. The town was especially important in the 15th century when it was a center of Portuguese overseas expansion under Henry the Navigator, the Grand Master of the Order of Christ, successor organization to the Knights Templar in Portugal.