Praça da República (Póvoa de Varzim)
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Praça da República (literally Republic Square), formerly named Largo de São Roque ( Saint Roch Square) is a small square in the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. The square has about 900 square meters, and is located between Junqueira shopping street and
Praça do Almada 280px, The Pelourinho, the 16th-century town pillory. The square's plate. The square name honors an 18th-century politician that prompted Póvoa de Varzim's urban development in the late 1700s. Praça do Almada (Almada's Square) is the civic cent ...
square, the civic center. It is sometimes popularly known as ''Largo de Santiago'' (Saint James Square).


History

''Capela de São Roque'' or Saint Roch Chapel was founded in 1582, by the seafarer Diogo Peres de S.Pedro and his wife Maria Fernandes de Faria. Meanwhile the cult to a Saint James icon (possibly from the 15th century), found at the beach, expanded the Saint James cult, justifying a change in invocation. In 1741 the ''Confraria de Santiago'' (Brotherhood of Saint James) was created in there and, by 1887, the chapel was reformed and expanded. the foundation of the temple was due to its location at a crossroads that joined in only one way to reach Ribeira, an area in the Port of Póvoa de Varzim. In the 1800s, Junqueira street was a busy shopping street and used as a way to reach the beach and gambling saloons, especially the nationwide famous casinos ''Salão Chinês'' and ''Café David''. Due to the fact it is a wide area, the square started being used as an entrance for the people of the provinces of Minho,
Trás-os-Montes Trás-os-Montes () is a geographical, historical and cultural region of Portugal. Portuguese for "behind the mountains", Trás-os-Montes is located northeast of the country in an upland area, landlocked by the Douro and Tâmega rivers to south a ...
and Alto Douro, that arrived in Póvoa due to medical advice to cure several health problems, in which they plan to cure by diving in rich iodine seawaters, sunbathing and breathing sea-aroma air. By this, the square gained relevance and was where the coachwomen parked the cars. In 1897, when the streetcar tramline was expanded a shunting line is created that goes by the square reaching the Baths Beach.Planta das ruas por onde se pretende assentar a Linha do Americano (27 de Janeiro de 1903) - Arquivo Municipal da Póvoa de Varzim By then there were lodging needs, and to answer that, hotels were created. In 1893 some hotels are registered in the area such as ''Aura Campista'', in the square's number 12, and in the immediacy '' Hotel do Sinal'' and '' Hotel Universal'' (1896). In 1908, the ''Hotel Europa''. With the new tourism laws in the early years of the 20th century, all hotels in this area had disappeared.


Urban morphology

Praça da República has a triangular shape. The São Roque Chapel, today mostly known as Santiago Chapel, centers the square to the west. This temple was the origin of the name of the square for most of its history. In front of the church there's the fountain with the scallop shell of Saint James, representing the pilgrim . It is a central stop for pilgrims on the Coastal way of Saint James. However several sites dedicated to Saint James exist in Póvoa de Varzim.
Monastery of Rates The Monastery of Rates ( pt, Mosteiro de Rates) was a Benedictine monastery located in the parish of Rates in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, in Portugal. The part of the monastery that has survived to this day is the bell-tower and, most ...
Romanesque church and other inland Saint James sites in the central way can be reached with a 2 hours-walk crossing
Cividade Hill Cividade Hill (Portuguese: ''Monte da Cividade'') or Cividade de Terroso Hill with an elevation of is one of the two hills next to the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. Cividade Hill's most notable feature is Cividade de Terroso in the hillto ...
and São Félix Hill. In the coastal route, the pilgrim is the directed throw signs to head to the beach, going throw
Rua da Junqueira Rua da Junqueira, mostly known simply as Junqueira, is a traditional shopping street in Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. The street, located in Póvoa de Varzim City Center, it is the main and the oldest shopping street of the city, with several b ...
,
Rua da Alegria Rua means 'street' in Portuguese and Galician language, and is the number 'two' in several Polynesian languages. It may refer to: Music *Rua (band), a New Zealand Celtic fusion band * ''Rua'' (Clann Zú album), 2003 * ''Rua'' (Moana and the Moah ...
, reaching
Avenida dos Banhos Avenida dos Banhos (Portuguese for Baths Avenue), is the main waterfront street and a popular tourist attraction in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. It roughly encompasses the central waterfront area of Póvoa de Varzim from Passeio Alegre Square and th ...
, a promenade along the beach, before reaching the beach-walkways. The chapel is sided by the old headquarters of Clube Naval Povoense. Clube Naval is the local yacht and water sports club of the city since 1904, it is the oldest local sports club. Nearby the ''Ritz Café'', one of the traditional contemporary coffee-shops of Póvoa de Varzim, opened to the public since 1979.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praca Da Republica (Povoa De Varzim) Squares in Póvoa de Varzim