History of Póvoa de Varzim

Permanent settlement in the coastal plain of Póvoa de Varzim dates back to around four to six thousand years ago; around 900 BC, unrest in the region led to the establishment of a fortified city.

[1] Widespread pillaging by rival tribes led the resident populations of the coastal plain of Póvoa de Varzim to raise a fortified town atop the hill that stood next to the sea.

The City prospered due to its strong defensive walls and its location near the ocean, which facilitated trade with the maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially during the Carthaginian dominion of the southern Iberian Peninsula.

The visits of Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans had as porpoise the exchange of textiles and wine for gold and tin, despite the scarcity of terrestrial ways, this was not a problem for Cividade de Terroso that was strategically located next to the sea and by the Ave River, thus an extensive trade existed in the city.

Over the following two years, Decimus Junius Brutus advanced into the Castro region from south of the Douro, crushed the tribal armies, and left Cividade de Terroso in ruins, by burning the city to the ground.

The Castro people returned to the coastal plain and a gradual abandonment of the hill started as the region was pacified under Caesar Augustus's Pax Romana.

Another fish processing factory and salt evaporation ponds existed in Junqueira, near the core of Villa Euracini, where remains of buildings and a number of artifacts, including vases were found.

[9] In the Old town of Póvoa de Varzim, the probable core of Roman Villa Euracini,[1] vestiges of buildings, called aedificia, and ceramics also surfaced.

[14] The first Norman incursion occurred in 844 by a group of Danish Vikings, who after being defeated near the Tower of Hercules, looted all the coast reaching the south of the peninsula, then under Moorish rule, they returned north and vanished after passing by Faro, Beja, and Lisbon.

[13] Instigated by the Duke of Normandy, there is a powerful incursion in 968 using a fleet of 100 ships led by the Viking Gundered (Gudrød), considered by them as the King of the Sea (sækonungr in old Norse).

[8] Arriving from the south, in 997, the region was probably sacked by the Moorish troops of Al-mansur, after his conquest of the Aguiar de Sousa Castle in 995,[18] the Christian realms suffered a setback and a new border with the short-lived Caliphate of Córdoba (929 – 1031) is drawn at the Douro River, creating political chaos, the weakening of the County's power, the expansion of power of the feudal lordships of the region and transformations, before and after the attack,[20] that questioned the authority of the Kingdom of León, especially after the reign of Alfonso V and Bermudo III of Leon.

[25] One of the great-grandsons of the later Guterre Pelayo, Lourenço Fernandes da Cunha was one of the knights that in 1176, with Prince Sancho, attacked Seville, an Islamic city in the south of the Peninsula, returning with good spoils of war.

The damage was so significant that when Sancho II was overthrown and Afonso became the King of Portugal he ordered the Judge of Faria, Martinho Martins, to resettle the royal land, only managed to get settlers for 15 of the 20 farming properties, as these feared the knights.

[26] these had to establish a medieval settlement known as Póvoa in the Royal land, the inhabitants should group as neighbors of this municipality, with the election of a judge, a community tax of 250 pounds and with seaport rights.

[27] Despite the taxes being reasonably high, the charter granted autonomy to the community, avoiding being subject to feudal domain and the royal butler, leading to the development of the town.

[23] In 1312, King Denis donated the town to his bastard son, Afonso Sanches, Lord of Albuquerque, who included it in the patrimony of the Convent of Santa Clara in 1318, which he had just founded in Vila do Conde.

However, by the royal charter of February 17, 1466, it was determined by King Afonso V that no powerful person could enter in the neighboring towns of Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde.

[16] In the 16th century, the fishermen started to work in maritime activities, as pilots or seafarers in the crew of the Portuguese ships, due to their high nautical knowledge.

One of the oldest streets in Póvoa bears the name of Amadinha to this day, which according to the local legend, was a black slave woman loved by a marine captain, who when he died left all his wealth to her.

[9] In the 17th century, the shipbuilding industry boomed in Ribeira shipyard, area around Póvoa fortress in the sheltered bay, and one-third of the population had some relation with this activity, building ships for the merchant navigation.

[23] The town limit exception became an issue when Póvoa was annexed to Comarca do Porto in the middle of the 16th century, becoming a municipal enclave in Minho province surrounded by lands of the House of Braganza.

[25] The expression "subtus mons", characteristic in the Portuguese medieval documents, was proved by Ferreira de Almeida that it is an administrative and military dependency.

The Town Hall of Póvoa de Varzim also got from the Braga chapter house the "Judge of the Church" rights extending its jurisdiction in areas outside the civil border.

[27] In the Memorias economicas da Academia real das sciencias de Lisboa (Economic memories of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon) it states that the fishermen of Póvoa de Varzim are the most attendable of all the Minho coast, and were the most experts and with most practice from Cape St. Vincent to Caminha, with a sizable number of fishermen, ships and fishing devices, and the result is a very considerable quantity of caught fish, stating that "The fishermen of Póvoa de Varzim are always at sea, they are not happy with coastal fisheries, and they get fish from seas, that are ten or twelve leagues away from the town.

[23] In 1842, the representation of the city hall of Póvoa de Varzim in the District's Geral Junta applied for the annexation of the civil parishes of Amorim and Beiriz, offering in exchange the ones of Outeiro Maior, Parada, and Santagões.

[23] By the reforms of December 31, 1853, it exchanged Outeiro Maior, Parada and Santagões for Amorim and Beiriz with neighboring Vila do Conde, thus solving its main concerns.

[23] Póvoa de Varzim was activelly involved in the Republican revolt of January 31, 1891 due to the 1890 British Ultimatum in Africa, with the actions of Rocha Peixoto, and the population sheltered and organized the flee to Spain, in a Poveiro boat, to Alves da Veiga.

He popularized Cego do Maio all over Portugal, by a text in the schoolbooks of the fourth grade, and turned into a legend the dignity and courage of the humble fishermen of the region.

[42] Ala-Arriba!, a 1942 film, focusing on local fisher culture, family values and the importance of the sea, is considered a project of the Estado Novo regime by the financial support it had.

These sold their properties to real estate agents and some moved to the free area south of the city: Caxinas and Poça da Barca in the municipality of Vila do Conde.

Old Town of Varzim, probable site of a Roman villa which prompted the development of the modern city.
The Port of Póvoa de Varzim .
The public garden of Praça do Almada , the civic center, around 1919.
Preserved Decumanus street . The first granite buildings appeared in the 5th century B.C. The city developed with new technology and trade brought in by the Mediterranean cultures.
Castro culture jewelry. Villa Mendo Treasure, similar to another one found in a clay pot in São Félix Hill from probable funerary ritual. Replica, depository of original: MNSR .
Stele dedicated to the popular god Mars . Mars was identified with Cosus, the prominent pre-Roman god in coastal Castro region.
Representation of a Roman fish factory .
11th/12th century art in the Monastery of Rates . A 1st century Roman stele Christianized around the 4th or 5th century could show hints of the Suebic period.
Boat identified as Norman sculpted in the church of Rio Mau Monastery.
Capital depicting warriors in the monastic church of Rio Mau (1151) in the Lordship of Varzim.
The old main Church, temple to the left, was built around the 11th century in Dores Square in the Old Town of Varzim.
The main church being demolished in 1910 for urbanistic reasons, as it was thought not to be significant due to historical adulteration. It then became clear it was of medieval foundation, dating to the height of Varzim's feudal period. The old stones were reused to build a new nearby church, while the Romano-Gothic arch is preserved in the city's museum.
Fierce disputes between the early Portuguese kings and the local overlords over the Port of Varzim and the town's lands lead to ravages and the establishment of the municipality in 1308.
The abbesses of Santa Clara Monastery taxed Póvoa between 1319 and 1514 and tense relations with the town arose.
Ancient map of the towns of Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde. The Port of Póvoa de Varzim is also represented.
The popularity of Madre de Deus Chapel was used to recruit men for seafaring activities.
Ribeira shipyard in the Port of Póvoa de Varzim, was where the shipbuilding and fisher activities developed.
During the age of gunpowder , Castelo da Póvoa was fully rebuilt due to privateer attacks.
View of the sheltered bay and the Fisher quarter in c.1836 with the Lapa Lighthouse and church visible in the background.
Fishing boats in the port.
Fishermen's living conditions. circa 1900 to 1915.
City Hall in the mid-19th century.
Former Luso-Brazileiro saloon in Largo do Café Chinês , one of the several gambling venues in 19th-century Póvoa.
Coat of Arms of Póvoa de Varzim with the anchor representing safety at sea as the main symbol.
In 1890, the return of the Jesuit power represented by the construction of the Coração de Jesus Basilica and the British Ultimatum in Africa created a republican sentiment amongst local intellectuals.
The Praça in 1909 - the Marquês de Pombal market square.
Praça do Almada in 1916. Portuguese military embarking for World War I in front of the city hall. This battalion was prepared and gathered in Póvoa de Varzim Military Barracks.
Avenida dos Banhos in the mid-20th century.
Póvoa de Varzim was in the news around the world due to renewable energy projects, such as the Floating wind turbine and the Aguçadoura Wave Farm . In the background, Póvoa de Varzim highrise district and the suburban sprawl.