Viana do Castelo () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and seat of the district of

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...

in the Norte Region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The population in 2011 was 88,725,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, has a population of approximately 36,148 inhabitants, although the extended densely populated region reaches surrounding municipalities like Caminha and

Ponte de Lima Ponte de Lima () is the oldest ''vila'' (chartered town, head of a municipality) in Portugal. It is part of the district of Viana do Castelo. The population in 2011 was 43,498, in an area of 320.25 km2. The town proper has about 2,800 inhabi ...

with a population above 150,000 inhabitants. It is located on

the Portuguese Way The Portuguese Way ( pt, Caminho Português, es, Camino Portugués) is the name of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes starting in Portugal. It begins at Porto or Lisbon. From Porto, along the Douro River, pilgrims travel north crossing t ...

path, an alternative path of the Camino de Santiago, and at the mouth of the Lima river.

History

Human settlement in the region of Viana began during the

Mesolithic era The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

, from discoveries and archaeological excavations. Even around the Roman occupation the area was settled along the Mount of Santa Luzia. The settlement of ''Viana da Foz do

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

'', which it was called when King

Afonso III of Portugal Afonso III (; rare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse''), or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin), the Boulonnais ( Port. ''o Bolonhês''), King of Portugal ...

issued a

foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician '' foro'', ...

(''charter'') on 18 July 1258, was a formalization of the 1253 ''Viana'' that the area was named. In the 16th century, its port gained great importance as one of the entry-points for Portuguese explorers and traders, involved in the

Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...

. Many of the historical buildings originated during this period. The prosperity that continued developed from the town's role as a port, protected by defensive structures (such as the Tower of Roqueta) to repel pirates from Galicia and north Africa. The port's ties to northern Europe came primarily from exports of wine, fruits and salt, and imports of tile, textiles and glass. After the maritime discoveries and trade, the commercial life of Viana reached its greatest proportions during the reign of

Queen Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

, when the monarch established the ''Associação Comercial de Viana do Castelo'' in 1852 (the fourth oldest public company of its type). The queen, in order to reward the loyalty of its citizens, who did not surrender to the Count of Antas, elevated the town to the status of city on 20 January 1848, renaming the settlement with its current name.

Geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 27 civil parishes (''

freguesias ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Port ...

''): * Afife * Alvarães * Amonde *

Anha Anha or Vila Nova do Anha is a civil parish in the municipality of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,415,Areosa Areosa is a civil parish located in the municipality (''concelho'') of Viana do Castelo, in northern Portugal The North Region ( pt, Região do Norte ) or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisbon Region, Lisbon, a ...

Barroselas e Carvoeiro Barroselas e Carvoeiro is a civil parish in the municipality of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Barroselas Barroselas is a former civil parish in the municipality of Viana do Castelo, Portu ...

* Cardielos e Serreleis * Carreço * Castelo do Neiva *

Chafé Chafé is a civil parish in the municipality of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,841,Darque Darque is a civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined f ...

* Freixieiro de Soutelo * Geraz do Lima (Santa Maria, Santa Leocádia e Moreira) e Deão * Lanheses * Mazarefes e Vila Fria * Montaria * Mujães * Nogueira, Meixedo e Vilar de Murteda * Outeiro * Perre * Santa Marta de Portuzelo * São Romão de Neiva * Subportela, Deocriste e Portela Susã * Torre e Vila Mou * Viana do Castelo (Santa Maria Maior e Monserrate) e Meadela * Vila de Punhe * Vila Franca

Climate

Viana do Castelo has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Csb''; Thornthwaite: ''ArB’2a’'') with substantial

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

influences characterized by warm, relatively dry summers and mild, rainy winters. It is also one of the rainiest cities in Continental Portugal.

Economy

Home to a modern service based economy, the city, along with its region, has a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

with naval repairing facilities. Its major industries are related to naval construction and repair, with the '' Estaleiros da Viana do Castelo'' remaining one of the few large shipyards still in operation. Home to a large cluster of wind green electricity and car-parts industries it has become one of the most dynamic exporting regions in the country.

Architecture

Civic

Since the early 1990s the city started a wide urban renewal plan, pioneering the "Polis program", and including enlarging the pedestrian areas, building new modern architecture and creating new public spaces and parks. Architects such as Siza Vieira,

Eduardo Souto de Moura Eduardo Elísio Machado Souto de Moura (; born 25 July 1952), better known as Eduardo Souto de Moura, is a Portuguese architect who was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2011 and the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2013. Along with Ferna ...

and Fernando Távora have participated in the construction of a modern, well preserved and lively city center. * ''Geraz do Lima'' carriage museum *Renaissance fountain (1535) in the Major Square *''Palacio de Tavoras'', a noble residence from the 16th and 17th centuries *Municipal Museum, housed in an 18th-century building and home to *''Paços do Conselho'' ("Palace of the Council", 1502), of which only the façade remains today

Religious

*''Church of Sâo Domingos'' (1576) * ''Chapel of the Holy Family'' ( pt, Capela da Sagrada Família e Portal da Quinta dos Espregueira) * ''Chapel of Our Lady of the Agony'' ( pt, Capela de Nossa Senhora da Agonia), church in Roccoco style * ''Cathedral of Viana do Castelo'' ( pt, Igreja Matriz de Viana do Castelo/Catedral de Viana do Castelo/Sé de Viana do Castelo), the 15th-century parochial church and cathedral, was constructed in the Romanesque style, comprising a façade flanked by two large towers with merlons, while the middle

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

portal with

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

s is decorated by sculptures depicting the ''Passion of Christ'' and of the Apostles. The interior designed in the form of the Latin cross, includes a nave and two aisles (separated by arches supported by pillars), as well as two ancillary chapels dedicated to São Bernardo and the Holy Sacrament, both attributed to João Lopes "the Elder". * ''Church of Mercy of Viana do Castelo'' ( pt, Igreja da Misericórdia de Viana do Castelo), designed in the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

-style. The building dates back to 1589. * ''Sanctuary of Saint Lucy'' ( pt, Santuário de Santa Luzia), designed by

Miguel Ventura Terra Miguel Ventura Terra (1866–1919) was a Portuguese architect. Ventura Terra studied in Porto and later in the École de Beaux-Arts of Paris in the ''atelier'' of Victor Laloux. Upon his return to Portugal, he became a celebrated architect and ...

and dedicated to the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Lucy of Syracuse.

Culture

In 2010, Viana do Castelo started to implement a project of rehabilitation of the city called Viana Criativa which is based on an investigation made by Paulo Caldeira along 4 years. Such project has the main purpose to attract more residents to a city where, during the last 500 years, many people around the world arrived to trade. Once upon a time, Viana was the second center of commerce of Portugal and some investigators are now recognising that ''

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

'' music was born based on the typical songs of Minho region.

Sport

SC Vianense Sport Clube Vianense ''(abbreviated as SC Vianense)'' is a Portuguese football club based in Viana do Castelo in the district of Viana do Castelo. SC Vianense currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal. The club was founded in 1898 and is o ...

is the local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club. Founded in 1898, it is one of the oldest clubs in Portugal. They play their home matches at the 3000 capacity Estádio do Dr. José de Matos.

Notable people

João Álvares Fagundes João Álvares Fagundes (born c. 1460, Kingdom of Portugal – died 1522, Kingdom of Portugal) was an explorer and ship owner from Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal. He organized several expeditions to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 152 ...

(ca.1460–1522) ship owner, explored Newfoundland & Nova Scotia. *

Caramuru Caramuru (-1557) was the Tupi name of the Portuguese colonist Diogo Álvares Correia, who is notable for being the first European to establish contact with the native Tupinambá population in modern-day Brazil and was instrumental in the early c ...

(ca.1475-1557) helped the early colonization of Brazil by the Portuguese crown. * João de Sousa, 3rd Marquis of Minas (1666-1722) nobleman and the 6th Count of Prado. *

Luís do Rego Barreto Luís do Rego Barreto, Viscount Geraz Lima, (28 October 1777, Viana do Castelo – 7 September 1840, Vila Real) better known as General Luis Rego, was a Portuguese military officer and colonial administrator who distinguished himself in the fig ...

(Viscount Geraz Lima) (1777–1840) a military officer and colonial administrator * Sebastião Lopes de Calheiros e Meneses (1816–1899) a colonial administrator of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. * Adriana de Vecchi (1896-1995) a cellist, Montessori-trained educator and founder of a Lisbon music school for children *

Óscar de Lemos Óscar de Lemos (1906–1954) was a Portuguese stage and film actor.Vieira p.161 Selected filmography * '' A Aldeia da Roupa Branca'' (1938) * ''João Ratão'' (1940) * ''A Menina da Rádio'' (1944) * ''Gentleman Thief A gentleman thief, gen ...

(1906–1954) a Portuguese stage and film actor. * Sofia Aparício (born 1970) a Portuguese model and actress. * Tânia Carvalho (born 1976) a choreographer and works in music, drawing and film.

Sport

* Rui Rêgo (born 1980) a former football goalkeeper with 538 club caps. * Nuno Santos (born 1980) a former footballer with 389 club caps *

Tiago Mendes Tiago Cardoso Mendes (; born 2 May 1981), known simply as Tiago, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He played professionally in five of Europe's major leagues, Portugal, England, France, Italy and S ...

(born 1981) a football manager and former player with 457 club caps and 66 for

Nélson Lenho Nélson Ricardo Cerqueira Rodrigues Lenho (born 22 March 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He played 84 matches in the Primeira Liga over five seasons, representing Leixões, Penafiel, Chaves and A ...

(born 1984) a former footballer with 358 club caps * Iúri Leitão (born 1998) a Portuguese road and track cyclist * Francisco Trincão (born 1999) footballer for

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

with over 120 club caps and 7 for

* Pedro Neto (born 2000) footballer for

with over 70 club caps and 3 for

International relations

Viana do Castelo is twinned with: *

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...

, Brazil * Aveiro, Portugal * Cabedelo, Brazil *

Hendaye Hendaye (Basque language, Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eusko Entz ...

, France * Igarassu, Brazil *

Itajaí Itajaí () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the northern central coast of Santa Catarina and is part of the Vale do Itajaí Mesoregion, on the right bank of the Itajaí-Açu river mouth. It lies at th ...

, Brazil * Lancaster, England *

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

, Spain *

Matola Matola is the largest suburb of the Mozambique capital, Maputo, adjacent to its westernmost side. It is the nation's second most populated city. Matola is the capital of Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 199 ...

, Mozambique *

Pessac Pessac (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a member of the metropolis of Bordeaux, being the second-largest suburb of Bordeaux and located just southwest of it. Pessac is also home to ...

, France *

Porto Seguro Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...

, Brazil * Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil * Riom, France * Viana, Brazil

Gallery

File:Viana do Castelo (10637953793).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo - Portugal 01.JPG, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo (6103772777).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:VianaPT HPIM8295 (2961412680).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo (10638203985).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:VianaPT HPIM8299 (2961414324).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:VianaPT HPIM8376 (2961439444).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo (10638219126).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:VianaPT HPIM8318 (2961420770).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo 4.JPG, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana do Castelo at night (5708533558).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Monte de Santa Luzia basilica from Viana do Castela (5707961821).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana_do_Castelo_-_panoramio_(43).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal File:Viana_do_Castelo_-_panoramio_(27).jpg, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

References

External links

Viana do Castelo - A Healthy City - Youtube video

Photos from Viana do Castelo

O blog de Viana do Castelo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viana Do Castelo Municipality Cities in Portugal Municipalities of Viana do Castelo District Port cities and towns in Portugal