Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the

Porto District The Districts of Portugal, District of Porto ( ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro (district), Aveiro and Viseu (distric ...

, in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

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 ...

. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do Móvel'' (''capital of furniture''), owing to the predominance of this industry within its territory, the municipality has around 5000 companies producing furniture and has the biggest exhibition and selling area (estimated in 2.5 million square meters) of furniture in Europe. It is also the location of

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

's industrial operations within Portugal. Its football team, FC Paços de Ferreira, participated for three times in European Competitions ( Champions League and Europa League), finished runners-up of the Portuguese cup in 2008/2009 and of the Portuguese League Cup in 2010/2011.

History

The territory of the current municipality was occupied by humans since prehistory. In the parish of Sanfins de Ferreira, there is an important hillfort, the Citânia de Sanfins, that was one of the main settlements of the Celtic tribes who lived in northwest

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

( Gallaeci). In medieval times, this planaltic area had few population. The only centers of power were the monastery of Ferreira and the noble families concentrated in the parish of Frazão. After the Portuguese Civil War, the new constitucional regime made important administrative changes, and, for the first time, granted administrative autonomy for the populations of the region, creating a municipality in 1836 and appointing the most central parish of the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

, Santa Eulália de Paços de Ferreira, as capital. Since then, the territory registered a remarkable development, and the population more than sextupled in 150 years. In the beginnings of the 20th century, a local elementary school teacher, Albino de Matos, invented new tools and furniture which began to be used in schools all around the country, marking the beginning of the furniture industry in Paços de Ferreira. In the second half of the century, with the economic growth of the country, the carpenters of Paços de Ferreira started to make and sell furniture for houses, which allowed the industry to expand, becoming the most important activity of the population. In 1993 the Portuguese parliament gave the title of city to Paços de Ferreira.

Geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 12 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Carvalhosa * Eiriz * Ferreira * Figueiró * Frazão Arreigada * Freamunde ity* Meixomil * Paços de Ferreira ity* Penamaior * Raimonda * Sanfins Lamoso Codessos * Seroa

Climate

Paços de Ferreira has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csb'') with cool, very rainy winters and warm summers that are dry enough to avoid being classified as oceanic (''Cfb'').

Demographics

Sport

* F.C. Paços de Ferreira (

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

) * S.C. Freamunde

Notable people

* Sílvia Cardoso (1882–1950) a beatified Portuguese Roman Catholic apostolate for the poor in Brazil, she also funded a boarding school for girls and supported a hospital Marisa Barros 6620

Sport

* Carlos Pinto (born 1973) a Portuguese former footballer with 378 club caps * Pedro Correia (born 1974), known as ''Pedro,'' a former football goalkeeper with 276 club caps * Joaquim Agostinho da Silva Ribeiro (born 1975), known as ''Agostinho,'' a retired footballer with 379 club caps * Carlos Carneiro (born 1975) a Portuguese former footballer with 367 club caps * Marisa Barros (born 1980), a Portuguese marathon runner, competed at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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

* Ricardo Manuel Ferreira Sousa (born 1981), known as ''Cadú,'' a footballer with over 480 club caps * André Leão (born 1985) a Portuguese professional footballer with over 360 club caps * Luís Pedro (born 1989), a Portuguese footballer with over 350 club caps

Gallery

Citania de Sanfins Portugal 04.jpg, The ''Citânia de Sanfins'' hillfort Igreja do Mosteiro de São Pedro de Ferreira, Paços de Ferreira, Portugal (3595552844).jpg, The monastery of Ferreira Fiorentina Paços.JPG, FC Paços de Ferreira playing a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacos de Ferreira Cities in Portugal Municipalities of Porto District