Almeida is a town in Almeida Municipality, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and underwent several sieges

Siege of Almeida

The Siege of Almeida may refer to one of a number of historical events including:* Siege of Almeida , during the Seven Years' War* Siege of Almeida , during the Peninsular War* Siege of Almeida , during the Peninsular War...

. The siege of 1810 ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders and destroying most of the town http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_almeida_1810.html.