Espinho (), officially the City of Espinho (), is a city and a

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

located in the

Aveiro District Aveiro District (, ) is located in the central coastal region of Portugal. The capital of the district is the city of Aveiro, which also serves as the seat of Aveiro Municipality. Aveiro District is bordered by the Porto District to the north, ...

, Portugal. It is located in both the Greater Porto and the

Metropolitan Area of Porto The Porto Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is th ...

, 16 km from its city centre. It is one of the smallest municipalities in Portugal and was, until 1899, part of the Santa Maria da Feira Municipality. In 2021, Espinho had a population of 31,027, a slight decrease from the previous census in 2011, when 31,786 were registered,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 21.06 km². The current mayor is Maria Manuel Cruz, elected by the PS. It is a beach resort and a zone of legal gambling with a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

- ''Casino Solverde''. Its

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

- ''Feira de Espinho'', having been first organised in 1894, is well known in Portugal. The city is home to ''CINANIMA - Festival Internacional de Cinema de Animação'', an international animation festival, and
FEST - New Directors New Films Festival
', an international film festival. The municipal holiday is June 16.

Sports

Volleyball The city, known as the volleyball capital in Portugal, is the home of nine Portuguese sports clubs: Novasemente/Cavalinho, Sporting Clube de Silvalde, Associação Desportiva de Anta, Clube de Voleibol de Espinho, Sporting Clube de Espinho, Associação Académica de Espinho, Academia de Ténis de Espinho, Clube de Ténis de Espinho and Associação Desportiva Rio Largo. Sporting Clube de Espinho and Associação Académica de Espinho are regular presences in the Portuguese Volleyball First Division. The first one is the Portuguese team with more titles (including a

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed to CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 to CEV Cup. T ...

, formerly known as CEV Top Teams Cup) and the second one was once national champion. Football Sporting Clube de Espinho (Os Tigres da Costa Verde) plays in

Campeonato Nacional de Seniores The Campeonato de Portugal (Portuguese for "Championship of Portugal") is the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. Together with the third-tier Liga 3, it is organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The Campeona ...

, the third football championship in Portugal. Former Portugal national football team player Fernando Couto, coach Vítor Pereira, the Olympic medalist António Leitão and volleyball players, such as Miguel Maia and João Brenha, were born in Espinho. Beach Volleyball The city hosted th
2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
between the 28th and 30 July. Espinho also hosted the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2019, between the 16th and 21 July. Beach Soccer The city hosted the

2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the premier international beach soccer competition for men's national teams, which has been organized by FIFA since 2005. Overall, this was the 18th e ...

, between the 9th and 19 July. Surf Surf event Espinho Surf Destination is an annual event held in Espinho, organized by the

World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The WSL was originally known as International Professional Surfing ( ...

. Golf The oldest golf club in Portugal and Spain, Oporto Golf Club, is also located in Espinho.

Gallery

File:Igreja_Matriz_de_Espinho.JPG, Main Church in Espinho File:Plataforma de passageiros na Apeadeiro de Espinho, 2008.11.01.jpg, Train station File:Espinhoplaya.JPG, Espinho's seafront File:Espinho_Pavilh%C3%A3o_Multiusos_NW.jpg, Major pavilion in Espinho

Demographics

Espinho is also home to a significant Madeiran immigrant community.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Anta e Guetim * Espinho * Paramos * Silvalde

Cities and towns

* Espinho (city) * Silvalde (town) * Anta (town) * Paramos (town) * Guetim (town) * Esmojães (town)

Notable people

Politics

Luís Montenegro Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (; born 16 February 1973) is a Portuguese politician and lawyer serving as the prime minister of Portugal since April 2024. He is the president of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social De ...

(born in Porto, 1973, but raised in and a known citizen of Espinho),

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal (; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Ass ...

(since April 2024). * Carlos Guimarães Pinto (born in Espinho, 1983), economist, leader of the Liberal Initiative party (2018–2019).

Sport

* António Jesus (1955–2010), known as ''Jesus'', was a football goalkeeper with 383 club caps and 7 for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

* António Leitão (1960–2012) a long-distance athlete; bronze medallist in the men's 5000 metres at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

* Jaime Alves (1965–2020), known as ''Alves'', was a footballer with 271 club caps and 3 for

* Vítor Pereira (born 1968) a football player and later manager who managed teams like

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

and Fenerbahçe * Fernando Couto (born 1969) a footballer with 438 club caps and 110 for

* Filipe Gonçalves (born 1984) a footballer with over 420 club caps * João Carlos Dias Correia (born 1985) known as ''Carlitos'', a footballer with almost 400 club caps * Fábio Espinho (born 1985) known as ''Espinho'', is a footballer with over 400 club caps

References

External links

* * * * * *
Photos from Espinho

Espinho City Official Website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Aveiro District