Póvoa de Varzim

Póvoa de Varzim (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɔvwɐ ðɨ vɐɾˈzĩ], locally [ˈpɔβwə ðɨ βəɾˈzĩŋ]), also spelled Povoa de Varzim, is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. The population of the municipality was 63,408 at the time of the 2011 census. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants, with 42,396 living in the city proper. The city expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there are about 100,000 inhabitants in the urban area alone. It is the seventh-largest urban agglomeration in Portugal and the third largest in Northern Portugal.

Permanent settlement in 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 Cividade de Terroso, a fortified city, which developed maritime trade routes with the civilizations of classical antiquity. Modern Póvoa de Varzim emerged after the conquest by the Roman Republic of the city by 138 BC, fishing and fish processing units soon developed, which turned out to be the foundations of the local economy. By the 11th century, the fish industry and fertile farmlands were the economic base of a feudal lordship and Varzim was fiercely disputed between the local overlords and the early Portuguese kings, which resulted in the establishment of the present day's municipality in 1308 and being subdued to monastic power some years later. Póvoa de Varzim's importance reemerged with the Age of Discovery due to its shipbuilders and merchants proficiency and wealth, who traded around the globe in complex trade routes. By the 17th century, the fish processing industry rebounded and, some time later, Póvoa became the dominant fishing port in northern Portugal.

Póvoa de Varzim Parish

Póvoa de Varzim is a former Portuguese civil parish, located in the city of Póvoa de Varzim. It is the core of the city of Póvoa de Varzim and until the new city limits established in 1995 it was the single parish that made up the city. In the census of 2011, it had a population of 28,420 inhabitants and a total area of 5.25 km². A 2012 law merged the parish with neighbouring Argivai and Beiriz, becoming the southern parish of the city of Póvoa de Varzim, known as União das Freguesias da Póvoa de Varzim, Beiriz e Argivai.

Póvoa de Varzim is densely populated. The medieval town of Varzim was a knights honour and the Port of Varzim was disputed between the local lordship and the early Portuguese kings. The history of this parish is prevalent in the history of Póvoa de Varzim.

Religiously speaking, there is no Póvoa de Varzim parish, it was divided into three parishes in 1935, parochial identity of its main quarters (Bairro Norte, Bairro Sul and Bairro da Matriz) predate this event. Póvoa de Varzim ecclesiastical parish (Santa Maria de Varzim Parish) existed only between 1456 and 1935. Prior to that, and despite the existence of a chapel, it was part of a larger Argivai parish, that still exists as a separate although diminished parish in the city.