Esgueira is an urban civil parish in the municipality (''

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

'') of Aveiro, in continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,431,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 17.15 km².

History

The history of Esgueira remotes to the early medieval: the first document referring to the region dates to 1050. Specifically, the texts refer to the maritime waters of Esgueira. Outeiro was the locality where the first inhabitants settled. There are several interpretations of the toponym. That proposed by Monsenhor João Gaspar stands out: Iscaria meant "outeiro", a rocky elevation above Ribeira, the place where now stands the pavilion of Clube do Povo de Esgueira, formerly "Parque do Outeiro". Its geographic location, alongside tidal flats, permitted, until the 17th century, the development of the salt industry. An active centre in salt commerce, Esqueira was the seat of its jurisdiction (over thirty 31 towns and 10 municipalities). It received 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'') in 1110 from the Count Henrique. In 1116, the Monastery of Lorvão had possessions in the town, which the Afonso Henriques enlarged in 1176, with the donation of Taboeira, among others. It was Sancho I that in October 1210, provided Esgueira to his daughter D. Teresa in his testament. On 8 June 1515, a new foral was issued by

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

. During the reign of John III there was a reorganization of the territorial divisions of the kingdom, resulting in the establishment of new comarcas, including Esgueira on 20 December 1533. Between 1528 and 1836, Esgueira was a municipality, consisting of the parishes of Esgueira, Cacia, Nariz and Palhaça, whom, by 1801, included 4426 inhabitants. With the elevation of Aveiro to city, the lands were converted into crown lands, after the Dukes implicated in the attempted assassination of

Joseph I of Portugal Dom Joseph I ( pt, José Francisco António Inácio Norberto Agostinho, ; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other act ...

were executed: the privileges of the Dukes were removed, and transferred by 6 November 1836 decree, extinguishing the municipality and annexxing Esgueira (as a simple parish) to the municipality of Aveiro.

Geography

The civil parish consists of various localities, including: Senhor do Álamo/Cruzeiro, Bairro do Vouga, Agras do Norte, Cabo Luís, Bela Vista, Taboeira, Quinta do Simão, Mataduços and Paço. Esgueira has an annual population of approximately 3050 students, distributed among five

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

/primary schools (including ''EB1/JI Taboeira'', ''EB1/JI Esgueira'', ''EB1/JI Alumieira'', ''EB1/JI Quinta do Simão'' and ''Cabo Luís/Bela Vista''), one middle-school (''Escola Básica 2º/3º Ciclos Aires Barbosa''), and a secondary school (''Escola Secundária Jaime Magalhães Lima''). While the community strives to establish a health centre, it is served by a health outpost on the ground floor of the municipal hall, in addition to a center for handicapped rehabilitation, medical clinics, two dental clinics, two pharmacies, a center for clinical analysis and centre for surgery.

Architecture

Civic

* Residence of Carvoeira () * Residence of Esgueira ()

Religious

* Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda () * Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Alegria () * Chapel of São Pedro () * Chapel of the Espírito Santo () * Chapel of Sol-Posto ()

References

{{authority control Freguesias of Aveiro, Portugal