Évora (USˈɛvʊrə , ˈɛvuɾɐ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District.
Due to its well-preserved old town centre, still partially enclosed by medieval walls, and many monuments dating from various historical periods, including a Roman Temple, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Due to its inland position, Évora is one of Portugal's hottest cities in the summer, frequently subject to heatwaves.
Évora is ranked number two in the Portuguese most livable cities survey of living conditions published yearly by Expresso. It was ranked first in a study concerning competitiveness of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, according to a 2006 study made by University of Minho economics researchers.
Along with Liepāja, Latvia, Évora was chosen to be European Capital of Culture in 2027.
Évora has a history dating back more than five millennia.
It was known as Ebora by the Celtici, a tribal confederacy, south of the Lusitanians (and of Tagus river), who made the town their regional capital.
The etymological origin of the name Ebora is from the ancient Celtic word ebora/ebura, the genitive plural form of the word eburos (yew), the name of a species of tree, so its name means "of the yew trees." The city of York, in northern England, at the time of the Roman Empire, was called Eboracum/Eburacum, after the ancient Celtic place name *Eborakon (Place of Yew Trees), so the old name of York is etymologically related to the city of Évora. Alternative hypotheses are that the name is derived from oro, aurum, (gold) as the Romans had extensive gold mining in Portugal; or it may have been named after ivory workers because ebur (genitive eboris) was Latin for ivory.
It may have been capital of the kingdom of Astolpas.
See Ebora Liberalitas Julia for more on Roman Évora.
The Romans conquered the town in 57 BC and expanded it into a walled town. Vestiges from this period (city walls and ruins of Roman baths) remain.