Querença sleepy little village in the hills of the Algarve not far from Loulé.
Traditionally Portuguese families kept a pig so as to feed the family for the year and in the past the locals would ask St Luis (the patron saint of animals hereabouts) to look after the welfare of those animals, indeed the church in the village is St Luis Church.
Traditionally Portuguese families kept a pig so as to feed the family for the year and in the past the locals would ask St Luis (the patron saint of animals hereabouts) to look after the welfare of those animals, indeed the church in the village is St Luis Church.
To thank the saint there is a festival every January to celebrate another successful year of pig rearing, this is the Querença Sausage Festival and there is a procession, musical entertainment and lots of sausages to eat and to buy to take home.
We visited for the first time in 2013 and can confirm that there is a lot of sausage about and delicious it is too.
In addition there is local produce, cakes, cork etc. It's a lovely day out, even if you don't eat the sausage you can absorb the atmosphere of this traditional festival in the village church square.
In addition there is local produce, cakes, cork etc. It's a lovely day out, even if you don't eat the sausage you can absorb the atmosphere of this traditional festival in the village church square.
As this festival is all about sausages and pigs I am not sure why there are so many of these cows in the village.