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,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 320.25 km². The town proper has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is named after the long medieval bridge (''ponte'') that passes over the Lima river that runs next to the town. The current Mayor is Victor Mendes, elected by the People's Party (CDS–PP). It is one of the six municipalities in Portugal administered by this party. The municipal holiday is 20 September.

General information

Ponte de Lima is located on the southern bank of the Lima, a small river with sources in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. One of the oldest towns in Portugal (founded on 4 March 1125),Municipality official website
/ref> it was historically significant as a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

settlement on the road from

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

and

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 98,025 in 2018, making it the fourth most populous city in Ga ...

, and the first place in Portugal getting a

municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charte ...

. Every second Monday, it holds one of the largest country markets in Portugal. In the second weekend of September, Ponte de Lima hold the ''Feiras Novas'' (the new fairs) for three days since 1826, granted by the Royal Provision of king Peter IV of Portugal. The attractive rural area around has the largest concentration of baroque manors in Portugal (Aurora, Bertiandos, Brandara, Calheiros, and Pomarchão are among the best known); Some provide tourism accommodation. Ponte de Lima is also known in the region and all across Portugal for its red

Vinho Verde Vinho Verde () (literally 'green wine') refers to Portuguese wine that originated in the historic Minho province in the far north of the country. The modern-day 'Vinho Verde' region, originally designated in 1908, includes the old Minho provi ...

wines and its

sarrabulho Sarrabulho is a traditional pork blood-based dish of the Minho Province, in the Norte region of Portugal, with deep roots in all of the country, which has given it a prominent place on the menu of regional and national gastronomy. There are dishes ...

rice.

Climate

Ponte de Lima has a temperate

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 39 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 ...

''): * Anais * Arca e Ponte de Lima * Arcos * Arcozelo * Ardegão, Freixo e Mato * Bárrio e Cepões * Beiral do Lima * Bertiandos * Boalhosa * Brandara * Cabaços e Fojo Lobal * Cabração e Moreira do Lima * Calheiros * Calvelo * Correlhã * Estorãos * Facha * Feitosa * Fontão * Fornelos e Queijada * Friastelas * Gandra * Gemieira * Gondufe * Labruja * Labrujó, Rendufe e Vilar do Monte * Navió e Vitorino dos Piães * Poiares * Refóios do Lima * Ribeira * Sá * Santa Comba * Santa Cruz do Lima * Santa Maria de Rebordões * Seara * Serdedelo * Souto de Rebordões * Vale do Neiva * Vitorino das Donas

Notable people

* António de Araújo e Azevedo (1754–1817) a statesman, author, amateur botanist and 1st Count of Barca. * Francisco de São Luís (1766–1845) a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, the eighth

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon ( la, Patriarcha Olisiponensis, pt, Patriarca de Lisboa), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the ...

, 1840 to 1845. *

Miguel Pereira Forjaz Dom Miguel Pereira Forjaz Coutinho, 10th Count of Feira (1 November 1769 – 6 November 1827), was a Portuguese general and War Secretary in the Peninsular War.Otto Von Pivka The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars 1977 -- Page 17 "The chiv ...

(1769–1827) a general, War Secretary in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

and

Count of Feira The Count of Feira (in Portuguese ''Conde da Feira'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1481, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to D. Rui Pereira, the son of Fernão Pereira, Lord of Santa Maria da Feira. ...

* Francisco de Melo da Gama de Araújo e Azevedo (1773 – 1859) a field marshal of the Portuguese Army and governor of Diu in

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a s ...

1821 to 1840. *

José Norton de Matos José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos, GCTE, GCL (March 23, 1867 in Ponte de Lima, Portugal – January 3, 1955 in Ponte de Lima) was a Portuguese general and politician. 1880s After attending college in Braga, and attending the Escola ...

(1867–1955) a Portuguese general and politician. * Fernando Pimenta (born 1989) a sprint canoeist, silver medallist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

and bronze medallist at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

* Vasco Costa (born 1991) a footballer with over 250 club caps

References

External links

Municipality official website
Municipalities of Viana do Castelo District Towns in Portugal {{VianadoCastelo-geo-stub