Valpaços () is a municipality in northern

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 in 2011 was 16,882,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 548.74 km².

History

The first documents that cite Valpaços date back to the 12th century. Its

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...

evolved from pre-national settlements, and started as a small enclave inhabited by nobles and signeurial family estates, attracted by the privileges given for settling so close to the Castilian border. The nascent Portuguese community was susceptible to attacks from Castile. The establishment of border settlements fixed the border. Historically, ''Vale de Paço'' (and later ''Vale de Paços'' until the 19th century) was an area with roots in the Roman period of settlement, yet influenced by Germanic settlers before Portugal became a Kingdom. The most important event in the regions history occurred in the 19th century. On 16 November 1846, during the

Patuleia

The Patuleia, Guerra da Patuleia, or Little Civil War was a civil w ...

conflict, a movement that was apolitical turned bloody, resulting in the deaths of 200 people, before the battle proceeded into the lands of

Murça Murça (), officially the Town of Murça (), is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,952, in an area of 189.37 km2. It is situated in the central part of the eastern district of Vila Real, and consigned to the Tr ...

Geography

Valpaços is located in the northern interior of Portugal in the

Alto Trás-os-Montes Alto Trás-os-Montes (), or ''Nordeste Transmontano'', is a former NUTS-level 3 subregion of the Norte Region of Portugal. It was abolished at the January 2015 NUTS 3 revision. Its 15 municipalities occupied an area of in the north-east of conti ...

region, and part of the district of

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...

. It is confined in the north by the municipality of Chaves, to the east by

Mirandela Mirandela (), officially the City of Mirandela (), is a city and a municipality in northeastern Portugal. The city itself is contained by the Mirandela parish, which had a population of 11,397. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 21,38 ...

and

Vinhais Vinhais (; ), officially Town of Vinhais (), is a municipality in the district of Bragança, northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 9,066, in an area of 694.76 km2. The present mayor is Américo Afonso Pereira, elected by the Social ...

, to the south by

and

and in the west by Chaves and

Vila Pouca de Aguiar Vila Pouca de Aguiar () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal. Its population in 2011 was 13,187, From north to south, the Transmontanan relief is exemplified by planar stretches of the Iberian Meseta, with altitudes between 700–800 metres above sea level, tending to have a regular profile north of the

Douro River The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...

. Regional and national connections between the municipality and its neighbours are completed across several of its primary and secondary roadways: the 213 (Chaves–Valpaços-Mirandela-Vila Flor); the 103 (Viana do Castelo-Braga–Chaves-Bragança); the 206 (Vila do Conde–Valpaços–Bragança); and the 314 (Chaves–Carrazedo de Montenegro-Murça IP4). The important link is the 206 to A24, which links Valpaços with Vila Real, Viseu and internationally to Spain (Espanha–Verin-A52 roadway), and the national A7 which permits a rapid connection with the coast (Guimarães, Braga and Porto). The ancillary connection to the national 213 also permits a rapid connection to the IP4, which links Valpaços with Porto, Vila Real and Bragança.

Climate

Valpaços has a dry,

hot-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 ...

with cold, moderately wet winters and dry summers.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 25 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Água Revés e Crasto * Algeriz * Bouçoães * Canaveses *

Carrazedo de Montenegro e Curros Carrazedo de Montenegro e Curros is a civil parish in the municipality of Valpaços Valpaços () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 16,882, in an area of 548.74 km2. History The first documents that cite Va ...

* Ervões * Fornos do Pinhal * Friões * Lebução, Fiães e Nozelos * Padrela e Tazem * Possacos * Rio Torto * Santa Maria de Emeres * Santa Valha * Santiago da Ribeira de Alhariz * São João da Corveira * São Pedro de Veiga de Lila * Serapicos * * Tinhela e Alvarelhos * Vales * Valpaços e Sanfins * Vassal * Veiga de Lila * Vilarandelo

Notable people

Luís de Azevedo Luís de Azevedo (born at Carrazedo de Montenegro, in the Diocese of Braga, in Portugal, in 1573; died in Ethiopia in 1634) was a Portuguese Jesuit scholar and missionary. Life He became a Jesuit in 1588, and sailed for the East Indies in 1592. ...

(1573–1634), Jesuit scholar and missionary to Ethiopia *

Manuel Buíça Manuel dos Reis da Silva Buíça (31 December 1875 – 1 February 1908) was a Portuguese schoolteacher and soldier involved in the regicide of King Carlos I of Portugal and Prince Royal, Luís Filipe, during the events that became known as the L ...

(1876–1908), schoolteacher and soldier involved in the

Lisbon Regicide The Lisbon Regicide or Regicide of 1908 () was the assassination of Carlos I of Portugal, King Carlos I of Portugal and the Algarves and his heir-apparent, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, by assassins sympathetic to Republicanism, Republic ...

Maria da Assunção Esteves Maria da Assunção Andrade Esteves (born 15 October 1956) is a Portuguese politician who was President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal from 2011 to 2015. She was a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party ...

(born 1956), politician, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal & MEP *

Ricardo Chaves Ricardo Alberto Medeiros Chaves (born 27 October 1977) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a central midfielder, and is a manager. Club career Born in Valpaços, Vila Real District, Chaves started playing for local club Vila Pouca F ...

(born 1977), footballer with 382 club caps

References