Mira (), officially the Town of Mira (), is 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' ...

in the central Portuguese district of Coimbra. A coastal municipality, known for its beaches, forests, and agriculture, the population was 12 465 inhabitantsInstituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of approximately .

History

Praia de Mira Henrique Matos Portugal 03

In 1442, the regent Peter, Duke of Coimbra, conceded administrative autonomy to the town of Mira. Concession of its first

Foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The ''Carta de Foral'', or simply ''Foral'', was a royal document in Portugal and its former empire, whose purpose was to establish a ''concelho'' (Council) and regulate its administration, borders and priv ...

(''charter'') occurred almost a century later, during the reign of King D. Manuel I. At that time, on 28 August 1514, the king bestowed to Gonçalo Tavares, the first seigneur of Mira, privileges to develop the region. In 1644, by royal concession, King D.

John IV of Portugal ''Dom (honorific), Dom'' John IV (; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), also known by the Portuguese as John the Restorer (), was the List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1640 until his death in 1656. He Portuguese Restoration War, ...

transfer

donatário A ' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "donated" or "endowed ne), sometimes anglicized as donatary, was a private person — often a noble — who was granted a considerable piece of land (a ') by the Kingdom of Portugal. The kings of Portug ...

title to the Casa da Rainha referring to the older concession, bestowed further rights to his successor, Manuel de Sousa Tavares (from the 1758 '' Memórias Paroquiais''). Mira was integrated in to the bishopric and comarca of Coimbra in 1758.

Geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Mira * Praia de Mira * Seixo * Carapelhos

Economy

A centre for artisanal

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

, and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

, Mira's economic activities also rely on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. In 2007, the Galician fishing company Pescanova, headquartered in

Redondela Redondela is a municipality in the province of Pontevedra (province), Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the Comarcas of Galicia, comarca of Vigo (comarca), Vigo. The most famous icons of the ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, announced its intention to build several sea bass aquaculture plants in Mira. Pescanova invested about 350 million Euros in the Portuguese aquaculture plant, which was backed by the

Portuguese government Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

with about 45 million Euros in incentives. The plants incorporate wind farms to alleviate the high energy costs, as well as a

fish feed Manufactured feeds are an important part of modern commercial aquaculture. They provide the balanced nutrition needed by farmed fish. The feeds, in the form of granules or pellets, give nutrition in a stable and concentrated form, enabling the ...

ing plant. The plants were projected to reach a production rate of between 30,000 and 100,000 tonnes per year.

Architecture

Civic

* Building of the Post, Telegraph and Telephones (CTT) of Mira () * Fountain of São Bento () * Municipal Council and Judicial Courthouse of Mira () * Pillory of Mira () * Subregional Hospital of Mira ()

Religious

* Chapel of Leitões () * Chapel of Nossa do Carmo () * Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição () * Chapel of Santa Marinha () * Chapel of São Sebastião () * Church of São Tomé () * Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo () * Hermitage of Santa Maria de Mira ()

Notable people

* Isabel Capeloa Gil (born 1965 in Mira) the 6th Rector of the Catholic University of Portugal

References

External links

*
Photos from Mira
Towns in Portugal Seaside resorts in Portugal Populated places in Coimbra District Municipalities of Coimbra District {{Coimbra-geo-stub