Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city located in the sub-region of the Porto
Metropolitan Area, belonging to the North region and the district of Porto.
It is the seat of the Municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, which has a total
area of 82.81 km2, 64,320 inhabitants in 2021 and a population density of
782 inhabitants per km2, subdivided into 7 parishes. The municipality is
limited to the north by Esposende, to the northeast by Barcelos, to the east
by Vila Nova de Famalicão, to the south by Vila do Conde (with which it
forms a conurbation) and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The first
populations settled in its territory between four and six thousand years
ago. Around 900 BC, instability in the region led to the founding of a
walled city, Catividade de Terroso, which developed maritime trade routes
with the civilizations of classical antiquity. Modern Póvoa de Varzim
emerged after the conquest of the city by the Roman Republic around 138 BC,
fishing and fish processing units developed shortly afterwards, forming the
basis of the local economy. By the 11th century, the fishing industry and
fertile fields formed the basis of a feudal lordship and Varzim was fiercely
contested between local and regional lords, the first kings of Portugal,
which led to the creation of the municipality in 1308 and its submission to
power. medieval monastery a few years later. The importance of Póvoa de
Varzim re-emerged with the Age of Discoveries due to the competence and
wealth of its shipbuilders and sailors, who traded around the world on
complex commercial routes. In the 17th century, the fish processing industry
took on new momentum and, some time later, Póvoa became the dominant fishing
port in the North of Portugal.
The city of Póvoa de Varzim has been a
recognized beach town for three centuries, the most popular in the North of
Portugal, which established an influential literary culture and patronage
in music and theater. It is one of the few legal gambling areas in Portugal
and has significant textile and food industries. The city maintains its own
cultural identity, a rich fishing cuisine and ancient traditions, such as
poveiras acronyms, the agricultural technique of masseiras and festivals.
The name, Póvoa de Varzim, derives from Póvoa, which means small village, given that, there, D. Dinis ordered the construction of a small village in 1308, the word Varzim, derives from Euracini, lord of the entirety, or at least part of these lands, the word Euracini, through various linguistic phenomena, ended up becoming Varzim.
Castro culture and Roman conquest
Finds of Acheulean stone tools suggest that Póvoa de Varzim has been
inhabited since the Lower Paleolithic, around 200,000 BC. The first
groups of shepherds settled along the entire coast of Póvoa de Varzim
around the 4th millennium and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. A
Neolithic-Chalcolithic necropolis, with seven known mounds, can still be
seen around Monte de São Félix and Monte da Catividade.
Widespread looting by rival tribes led the populations living on the
coastal plain of Póvoa de Varzim to build a fortified settlement on the
top of the mountain closest to the sea. Thus was born the Catividade de
Terroso, which developed to become one of the main towns of the Castro
culture. At its peak, Ctividade would have been close to 12,000 square
meters and several hundred people lived there. It maintained commercial
relations with Mediterranean civilizations, mainly during Carthaginian
rule in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula.
During the Punic
Wars, the Romans became aware of the Castro region's wealth of gold and
tin deposits. Viriathus, who led the Lusitanian hosts, prevented the
growth of the Roman Republic north of the Douro River. However, his
murder in 138 BC. opened the way for the Roman legions. During the
following two years, Décimo Júnio Bruto Galaico advanced through the
Castro region, crushed the Castro armies and took the Ctividade de
Terroso, leaving it in ruins.
The region was pacified during the
rule of Caesar Augustus. The Castro people returned to life on the
coastal plain, where the town of Euracino and Roman fish factories were
created. With annexation by the Roman Republic, trade supported regional
economic development, with Roman merchants organized into true
commercial companies that sought a monopoly in commercial relations.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, villages of Suebi origin
established themselves in the surrounding area. The first known written
reference appears on March 26, 953 during the rule of Mumadona Dias,
Countess of Portugal. The region was attacked by the Vikings (Normans)
in the 960s, by the Moors in 997 and again by Norman pirates in
1015-1016. Several clues indicate Viking colonization in Vila de
Euracino after these invasions. During the Middle Ages, the name
Euracino (Euracini) changed to Uracini, Vracini, Veracini, Verazini,
Verazim, Varazim and, eventually, Varzim.
In the 11th century,
Guterre Pelayo, one of the main captains of the reconquest for the
Portucalense County, became the Lord of Varzim. D. Henrique, Count of
Portugal, assigned him the Port of Varzim and other neighboring
possessions. The lords of Varzim obtained significant power. When
Portugal was already a stable kingdom, Sancho I of Portugal believed
that they were conspiring against the king and decided to attack the
fiefdom. He conquered the port, destroyed most of the properties and
drove out the farmers. The northern part became known as Varzim dos
Cavaleiros and belonged to the Knights Hospitaller, who inherited the
wealth of local lords. The southern part of Varzim, the king's land, was
the location of the port and neighboring agricultural fields.
According to a chronicle from 1258, while King D. Sancho II disputed the
throne with his brother D. Afonso, who was invited by the knights to
take the Portuguese throne, Gavião de Varzim used the opportunity to
destroy the king's possessions in Varzim . The chronicler mentions that
the knight violently entered the king's lands, destroying them in such a
way that it was not possible to sow bread, nor could cars cross that
place when they did before. Sancho II lost the throne, Afonso became
king and ordered the repopulation of the royal lands in Varzim. The king
only managed to get settlers for 15 of the 20 agricultural properties,
as they feared the fury of the knights. The king's chronicler wrote
explicitly that the entire port was the king's property.
Gomes
Lourenço, from Honor of Varzim, was a very influential knight and
godfather of D. Dinis. He took advantage of relationships he had with
important personalities in the kingdom to see the port recognized as his
honor. D. Gomes tried to convince D. Dinis, who the king's father, D.
Afonso III, took from him unfairly. Justifying their attitude with the
Honor of Varzim, D. Gomes and his descendants go to the port and obtain
tribute from the fishermen.
In 1308, King D. Dinis issued a
charter, donating the reguengo to 54 families in Varzim; they would have
to found a new Póvoa around the Square, next to Vila Velha, controlled
by the knights. In 1312, D. Dinis donated Póvoa to his bastard son
Afonso Sanches, lord of Albuquerque, and he included it in the heritage
of the Santa Clara Monastery, which he had just founded in Vila do
Conde. In 1367, King Fernando I confirmed the charters, privileges and
uses of Póvoa de Varzim. These were confirmed again by D. João I in
1387.
The domain of the monastery's abbess became increasingly
stronger over Póvoa de Varzim, through increased taxes and interference
in the election of the Judge of the Municipal Chamber, increasing the
chamber's discontent, which led the people to ask King D . Manuel I to
put an end to the situation. In 1514, D. Manuel granted a new charter to
Póvoa de Varzim. At the request of the king, the monastery was reformed
by means of a papal bull in 1515. Abbess Joana de Meneses resisted,
having been forced to change convents. He gained a pillory, significant
autonomy and became involved in the Portuguese discoveries.
In the 16th century, fishermen began to work in maritime activities,
as pilots or sailors, in the crew of Portuguese ships, due to their high
nautical knowledge. The region's fishermen have been fishing in
Newfoundland since at least 1506. During the reign of D. João III, the
art of Portuguese shipbuilding was already famous, and Portuguese
carpenters were sought after by the Ribeira das Naus shipyards in Lisbon
due to their high knowledge. technicians. The urban landscape was
dominated by single-story houses, but there are indications of
multi-story housing with rich architecture. The wealthy merchant class
is associated with these rich houses around Praça Velha. The routes of
Poveiros merchants included the West Indies, São Tomé, Angola, Brazil,
India, Peru, Flanders and Seville.
In the 17th century, the naval
industry had a significant increase in Ribeira, shipyards close to
Castelo da Póvoa in the cove, and a third of the population had some
relationship with this activity, building ships for merchant navigation.
During this period there was a significant urban expansion: the civic
center of Praça with the City Hall and the Madre Deus Chapel, the Vila
Velha area with the main church and the fishermen's neighborhood of
Junqueira, with the development of the fish salting business, it was
beginning to establish itself as a new urban center.
At the
beginning of the 18th century, there was a decline in the functioning of
the Ribeira shipyards, due to the silting of the Portuguese coast and
the Poveiros shipyards began to dedicate themselves to the construction
of fishing boats. There was a significant increase in the fishing
community in the middle of the century, becoming the main activity, and
during the reign of D. José I with the country in the midst of an
economic crisis, Póvoa began accelerated development. The Royal Academy
of Sciences verified the significant notoriety of the community on the
Minho coast and considered that the Poveiros were the most skilled
fishermen in Cabo de São Vicente a Caminha, with a considerable number
of fishermen, ships and deep-sea fishing. The result was a very
significant fish catch.
The community flourished, leading to a
royal provision in 1791 by D. Maria I, tasking Corregedor Francisco de
Almada e Mendonça with restructuring the urbanization of the city,
creating a new civic center with a monumental town hall, streets and
infrastructures were created, helping in the development of a new
business, sea bathing.
The waters rich in iodine meant that, from 1725 onwards, Benedictine
monks traveled distances to take the "baths of Póboa", in search of
iodine, considered potent, and cures for skin and bone problems through
sea and sun baths. From the 19th century onwards, affluence intensified
mainly among the wealthy classes of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, leading to a
cosmopolitan appearance and the development of leisure. Several hotels,
theaters and game rooms appear. It then became the most popular holiday
destination in the North of Portugal, which led private investors to
create railway connections with Porto in 1875 and with Baixo Minho in
1878.
On February 27, 1892, a shipwreck off the beach, due to a
storm, had a strong impact on the community. Seven Portuguese boats
sank, taking 105 fishermen with them.
At the time, Póvoa de
Varzim was already larger than most Portuguese cities, it stood out as
the third urban center in Entre-Douro-e-Minho, after Porto and Braga.
Despite this, the local elite were against city status. However, the
great development between the 1930s and 60s led to the granting of city
status in 1973, through decree 310/73.
Junqueira is the busiest and oldest commercial area in the city
center, the main street opened in the 18th century and became
pedestrianized in 1955. With around 1 km of pedestrian streets,
Junqueira is dotted with boutiques and buildings dating back to the
Belle Époque, being recognized by the jewelry store; of which
Ourivesaria Gomes is one of the most exquisite and historic in the
country.
The coastline is a beach and nightlife area popular with
visitors and locals alike. Avenida dos Banhos, which runs along Praia
Redonda to Praia da Salgueira, is an iconic avenue, with nightclubs,
bars and terraces along the way. Passeio Alegre is a beach square full
of terraces, and Caetano de Oliveira, to the north, is a small but
vibrant square, with several bars where younger people meet, before
heading to the clubs next to the beach , early in the morning.
There are a large number of religious or popular celebrations. The
municipal holiday is on June 29th, the day of Saint Peter, the holy
fisherman. At this point, the neighborhoods are ornate; and, on the
night of June 28th to 29th, the population gathers to celebrate, dancing
and eating by the light of bonfires. Traditional neighborhoods compete
with each other in the "rusgas" and in the creation of Saint Peter's
thrones. During the festivities, the population behaves like supporters
of football clubs, and sometimes the most fanatical are exalted in
defending their favorite neighborhood, but as a rule the competition is
healthy, forming a joint final raid representing the city . Families,
who emigrated to the United States and other countries, return to Póvoa
just for the exaltation and feeling of community present in this
festival.
The Monday after Easter is considered the "second"
municipal holiday. The locals work on Good Friday (national holiday) to
have Monday free to have a family picnic together with other families in
the bouças — Angel Day. Companies based in Póvoa de Varzim follow this
tradition and are open on Good Friday in order to close on Monday.
Póvoa de Varzim is usually remembered because of Eça de Queirós, one
of the main writers in Portuguese and a prominent European novelist who
was born there in Praça do Almada in 1845. Since the 19th century, it
has also been a traditional meeting point for writers. . Camilo Castelo
Branco, one of Póvoa's famous bohemians, wrote part of his work in the
old Hotel Luso-Brazileiro. The Diana Bar, a traditional meeting place,
was where José Régio wrote much of his work.
Related to the city
are other names from Portuguese literature such as Eça de Queiroz,
Almeida Garrett, D. António da Costa, Ramalho Ortigão, João Penha,
Oliveira Martins, António Nobre, Antero de Figueiredo, Raul Brandão,
Teixeira de Pascoaes, Alexandre Pinheiro Torres or Agustina Bessa-Luís.
In contemporary times, the city gained international literary
prominence with Correntes d'Escritas, a literary festival of Portuguese
and Spanish-language writers, who come together for a variety of
presentations and the annual award for the best work released in the
last year. Writers from around the world joined the city, such as the
Chilean Luís Sepúlveda or the Africans Mia Couto and Ondjaki.
Casino da Póvoa has been a reference in gaming and entertainment in
the North since the 1930s, where games and shows take place throughout
the year. In 2006, it was the second most profitable casino with 54
million euros and the third most popular with 1.2 million customers. The
Egoísta Restaurant at Casino da Póvoa, a Portuguese-inspired haute
cuisine, is surrounded by an art gallery, with works by national authors
such as Graça Morais, Júlio Resende, Nikias Skapinakis or Rogério
Ribeiro. Filanrópica, created in 1935, is a cultural cooperative whose
cultural actions range from painting exhibitions to dance courses.
In the 19th century, Póvoa de Varzim had more than a dozen casinos.
The Chinese Hall, the most charismatic, was famous throughout the
country for dancing girls and extravagant decoration. Other recognized
gaming rooms were Café Suisso, Café David, Café Universal and
Luso-Brasileiro. Of the various hotels in Póvoa de Varzim, the most
historic one still in operation is the Grande Hotel da Póvoa, a
modernist building with great impact.
The poveira theatrical
tradition has been witnessed since 1793 when Italian operas and
Portuguese comedies were presented in a theater built in Campo das
Cobras, it developed with the Teatro Almeida Garrett (1873), the Teatro
Sá da Bandeira (1876) which in 1890 gave way to the The new Garrett
Theatre, the Teatro Lisbonense, which in 1910 gave way to the Salão
Teatro, today takes place in the Municipal Auditorium and in the old
Garrett Theatre, called by the municipality as Cine-Teatro. Varazim
Teatro is a local theater company that has Espaço d'Mente as its
headquarters.
The Póvoa de Varzim Music School is located in the
Municipal Auditorium building. The Póvoa de Varzim Symphony Orchestra,
with regular concerts in the auditorium, is the resident orchestra
during the Póvoa de Varzim International Music Festival. Classical music
event created in 1978 and comprising concerts spread across various
areas of the municipality. The century-old Póvoa de Varzim Musical Band,
which includes the Osquestra Ligeira, resides in the Musical Auditorium.
The Passeio Alegre Stage, close to the beach, is a prime location during
the summer for concerts and other outdoor events.
The Municipal Museum of Ethnography and History (1937) is a museum
with a maritime ethnographic vocation. One of the oldest ethnographic
museums in Portugal and housed in a 17th century manor house, the
museum's collection highlights the "Siglas Poveiras" exhibition, which
won the 1980 "European Museum of The Year Award". primitive church and
archaeological pieces such as the Roman inscriptions of Beiriz.
There are small thematic museums: the Santa Casa Museum, the
Museological Center of the Romanesque Church of São Pedro de Rates which
is dedicated to the dissemination of the history, legend and art
surrounding the Romanesque Church of São Pedro de Rates and the
Archaeological Center of the City of Terroso, which serves as a
presentation of the Ctividade de Terroso. The City Council plans to open
two more small themed museums, the Regufe Lighthouse and the Casa do
Pescador, the latter a true portrait of how local fishermen lived.
The Ecomuseum of Rates (8 km) is a historic and rural circuit, with
several stations starting in the Square with the Capela Senhor da Praça,
the pillory and the old house of the municipality of Rates, followed by
ancestral fountains, mills, houses and rural paths. The Municipal
Archive was designed for all those interested in tracing their family
tree or researching the city's archives.
Póvoa de Varzim has a defined identity within the Portuguese
population and its culture has its own particularities. The local
expression Ala-Arriba! means "strength, up!", and was shouted when a
boat was pulled ashore throughout the community, becoming seen as the
motto of Póvoa de Varzim. It was Leitão de Barros, with the film
"Ala-Arriba!", a drama-documentary film genre, that popularized this
fishing community during the 1940s.
The heir of the family is the
youngest son, as in ancient Britain and Denmark, because he was expected
to take care of his parents when they became elderly. Also, unlike the
rest of the country, it is the woman who rules the family, this
matriarchy is rooted in the absence of the man who was normally fishing
in the sea.
The population was already divided into different
"castes": the Lanchões (those who had boats capable of deep-sea fishing,
therefore more wealthy), the Rasqueiros (the fishing "bourgeoisie" who
used "rasca" nets to catch stingrays, lobster and crabs) and the
Sardinheiros or Fanequeiros (those who had small boats and could only
catch minor fish off the coast), and, isolated from them, the lavradores
(farmers). There were also other groups, the Seareiros (those who mixed
fishing and agricultural experience), and the Sargaceiros (those
dedicated to sargassum harvesting). And, as a rule, the different castes
did not get involved, mixed marriages were prohibited due to the
isolationism of the fishermen, coordinated by elders.
Poveira
acronyms, with a restricted number of symbols that were combined to form
more intricate marks, were used as a rudimentary visual communication
system or as a coat of arms and family mark to mark belongings. Sellers
also used them in their trust book; fishermen applied them in religious
rituals by carving their mark on the doors of Catholic chapels near
hills or beaches; at the table in the Main Church during the wedding;
and still had magical importance, as did the acronym São Selimão, which
was seen as a protective symbol.
The acronyms are inherited and
the children were given the same brand but with a line, called piquee,
and continue to be embroidered on the famous Poveiras shirts.
The
youngest son, the heir, would have no pike, thus inheriting the coat of
arms. The acronyms are still used today, in an increasingly light way,
by some families; and are related to very ancient Viking traditions.
Of the traditional Poveiro everyday objects, the Lancha Poveira
stands out, a boat that developed from the Viking Dracar, without a
pronounced stern and stern, with a Mediterranean sail. Poveiras shirts
are a local costume with maritime motifs and the owner's name
embroidered on it. Created with festive and decorative intent, sweaters
were community clothing until 1892, the year in which a fatality
occurred at sea, and thus ceased to be used as a form of mourning,
becoming popular again at the end of the 1970s. Nowadays , ways have
been sought to modernize Poveiras shirts on the one hand and maintain
traditional knowledge on the other, with designers presenting them in
international fashion shows. Another typical craft is the Beiriz rugs,
which are rustic rugs in which the rug pattern can also be seen on the
reverse side.
On August 15th, the Festival of Nossa Senhora da
Assunção takes place, one of the largest of its kind in Portugal, the
highest point of the procession takes place in front of the fishing port
– at this time hundreds of rockets are launched from decorated boats. In
the last fortnight of September, during the celebrations of Nossa
Senhora das Dores, the centuries-old and typical Feira da Louça da
Senhora das Dores takes place, with several tents, installed in the
square next to the Church of Senhora das Dores, selling various
crockery, especially traditional Portuguese crockery.
São Félix
Hill is a reference point for fishermen at sea and an ancient cult. On
the last Sunday of May, the Pilgrimage of Senhora da Saúde covers a
distance of 7 kilometers between the Main Church and the Sanctuary of
Nossa Senhora da Saúde, at the foot of Monte de São Félix. Near Cape
Santo André, there is a rock formation called Penedo do Santo, which has
a mark that fishermen believe to be a footprint of Santo André himself.
They also believe that this saint is the boatman of souls and that he
frees the souls of those who drown at sea, going to fish them at the
bottom of the ocean after a shipwreck. The feast of Santo André takes
place in the early hours of the last day of November, when groups of
people, wrapped in black cloaks and holding lamps, go to the chapel
along the beach.
The traditional ingredients of Pove cuisine are regional vegetables
and fish. Fish is divided into two categories, "poor" fish (sardines,
rays, mackerel, cascarra and others) and "fine" fish (such as hake, sea
bass, whiting and melo). The most famous local dish is Pescada à
poveira, whose main ingredients are, in addition to the fish that gives
the dish its name, potatoes, eggs and a "boiled sauce" of onion and
tomato. Other fishing dishes include sardine rice, fish stew,
poveiro-style stuffed squid, seafood rice and sweaty lobster. Seafood
with shell and bait, fritters and fried cod cakes are popular starters.
Feijoada poveira, served with dry rice, is made with white beans,
sausage and pieces of beef and pork.
Francesinha poveira is a
typical fast food from Póvoa that appeared in 1962 for quick consumption
by bathers. With similarities only in form to the hot dog, it is a
sandwich made with sausage, ham, cheese and mustard on bagel bread. The
francesinha is spread with a specific sauce made from butter, margarine,
ketchup and piri-piri, with cognac, cognac, port or whiskey.
Along the EN13, which crosses the interior of the city, there is the
largest concentration of restaurants. Some are well known for local
specialties such as seafood, cod, hake, roast chicken and francesinha.
According to the city hall, 38% of the population of Póvoa de Varzim
practices sports, a figure higher than the national average. The most
popular sport (sport) is football. Bruno Alves, football player, is the
Poveiro who stands out most in the world of sport. The Municipal Stadium
and its synthetic fields in Parque da Cidade are the stage for the
inter-parish championship where 19 popular football clubs compete:
Aguçadoura, Amorim, Argivai, Averomar, Balazar, Barreiros, Beiriz,
Belém, Estela, Juve Norte, Laundos, Leões da Lapa, Mariadeira, Matriz,
Navais, Rates, Regufe, Terroso and Unidos ao Varzim.[89] Varzim Sport
Club is the municipality's professional football club and plays at the
Estádio do Varzim adjacent to the beach; in the current season they
compete in the Second Division, but have reached the main league on
several occasions.
The Póvoa de Varzim International Meeting, in
a long-distance pool, is a European winter event that serves as an
evaluation for the world championships in pure swimming.[90] The meeting
takes place in the municipal swimming pool complex belonging to Varzim
Lazer, a municipal company that manages other sports facilities found in
the north of the city: the Tennis Academy, the Monumental Bullring and
the Municipal Pavilion. In front of the public swimming pool complex,
there are the Swimming Pools of the Clube Desportivo da Póvoa, a club
that stands out in the city for the number of participants in various
sports: basketball, volleyball, roller hockey, motor racing and
athletics. There is also the Póvoa de Varzim Handball Club and the Póvoa
Futsal Club. Beach volleyball and footvolley are popular sports on
Poveiras beaches, and it was there that footvolley began to be
practiced, for the first time, in Portugal.
Marina da Póvoa,
close to the sea port, offers various sporting activities developed by
the Clube Naval Povoense, especially sailing, sport fishing, water polo
and bodyboarding. The Costa Verde Trophy, between Póvoa de Varzim and
Viana do Castelo, is one of the regattas organized by the club and Rally
Portugal is a sailing and exploration event on the western European
coast. Marina da Póvoa is sheltered and is a stop for pleasure boats
exploring the western European coast.
Next to Monte de São Félix,
the Rates Shooting Range is considered one of the best in Portugal and
Europe, having great prestige among national practitioners. There is
also a Links Golf Course and a greyhound track in Estela. The Monumental
Bullring (1949) is the only active bullring in the North of Portugal.
The most notable race in this square takes place at the end of July. The
Grande Corrida TV Norte, bullfighting, is broadcast on Portuguese public
television.
In cycling, the Spring Classic takes place annually
in April, and Póvoa de Varzim is traditional for the beginning or end of
a stage of national tours. In the mountain biking category, the Póvoa
Clube BTT is based in the city and the City of Póvoa de Varzim MTB Grand
Marathon race is held in the city. The athletics calendar begins with
the Cego do Maio Half Marathon in March, the Marginal Grand Prix in May
and the São Pedro Grand Prix at the beginning of July.
Due to the
geography and favorable urban spaces, board culture is omnipresent in
Póvoa de Varzim. At Salgueira beach, bodyborderers and surfers are
concentrated, at Lota, a leisure space for various audiences, it is
especially popular among the skateboarding and biker communities, being
considered the most charismatic skateboarding area in the country.
The first newspaper was Gazeta da Póvoa de Varzim, published between
1870 and 1874. Today, the city is served by the weeklies O Comércio da
Póvoa de Varzim (1903), A Voz da Póvoa (1938) and Póvoa Semanário which
began to be printed in the late 1990s.
The stations of Rádio Mar
(89.0) and Rádio Onda Viva (96.1) broadcast on FM and over the Internet.
The radio stations' daily programming includes local news and sports
from the Póvoa de Varzim region. Rádio Onda Viva broadcasts daily
programming in Mandarin aimed at the Chinese community. There are local
television channels on the Internet, namely Norte Litoral TV and Onda
Viva TV.
Parishes
Aguçadoura and Naval
Aver-o-Mar, Amorim and Terroso
Balazar
Stele
Laúndos
Póvoa de Varzim, Beiriz and Argivai
São Pedro de Rates
Occupying an area of 82.21 km², the
Municipality of Póvoa de Varzim is located between the Cávado and Ave
rivers, or, more broadly, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers, on
the north coast of Portugal — the Costa Verde. The municipality is
limited to the North by the municipality of Esposende, to the Northeast
by Barcelos, to the East by Vila Nova de Famalicão and to the South by
Vila do Conde. To the west, it has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.
Wandering along the coast, Cape Saint Andrew stands out, which is
possibly the Avarus Promontory referred to by Ptolemy, a geographer of
Ancient Greece, in the territory of the Callaici. The rocky cliffs,
common from the mouth of the River Minho, disappear in Póvoa de Varzim
giving way to a coastal plain and coves. The plain originates from an
ancient maritime platform that provides sandy soil to the coastal land
of Varzinense, forming dunes, mainly in the north of Aguçadoura.
In the landscape, the São Félix hill (202 meters) and the Ctividade hill
(155 m) stand out. Despite the low elevation, the predominance of the
plain makes these elevations clear reference points on the horizon. The
mountain range called the Rates mountain range divides the municipality
into two distinct areas: the coastal plain gives way to the hills, where
the forests become more abundant and the soil has less marine influence.
In this landscape dominated by plains and low-altitude hills with very
gentle slopes, only the slope of Corga da Soalheira (150 m), in the
interior, acquires any relevance.
In the innermost region of the
municipality, there is the village of Balazar which, due to the heroic
virtues and reputation for holiness of her fellow countrywoman
Alexandrina Maria da Costa, beatified in 2004 by Pope John Paul II, has
become a world center of Christian pilgrimage.
The municipality's
hydrography is very insignificant in terms of large flows, but it
includes numerous small watercourses due to the relief of the coastal
plain. Some of these watercourses are permanent, with the Leste River, a
tributary of the Ave River, being the largest. The Esteiro river
originates at the base of Monte da Catividade and flows into Aver-o-Mar
beach and the Alto river originates at the foot of Monte de São Félix
and reaches the Atlantic at Rio Alto beach. The land is well irrigated,
and the emergence of fountains and wells is very common, considering
that the water table is often close to the surface.
Forest areas
suffer from strong demographic pressure and intensive agriculture.
Forest cover is still relevant in the areas that embrace the Serra de
Rates, whose flora is distinguished by oak trees, holly trees and
carquejeiras. In the 18th century, the monks of Tibães planted pine
forests, which characterize the parish of Estela. In the past, the
Atlantic forest predominated, with medium and large trees, such as oaks,
ash trees, hazel trees, strawberry trees, holm oaks and alder trees. The
boulders along the entire coast, which divide the extensive sands, are
true nurseries for molluscs, fish and algae. Boulders and dunes are
ecosystems that have important ecological richness, but are threatened
by vacationers, dune sports and coastal construction.
Poveiro's climate is classified as Mediterranean (Csb according to
the Köppen climate classification) softened by ocean breezes, with mild
summers and mild winters. Average temperatures range between 12.5 and 15
degrees. The city has a microclimate and is considered the region least
subject to frost in the entire North of Portugal, with extremely rare
snowfalls, due to the winter winds that normally blow from the South and
Southwest.
Rain is mainly concentrated in winter and the
municipality has three distinct regions in terms of precipitation. In
the coastal plain, the urban core is the driest area where precipitation
varies between 1000 and 1200 mm annually; the north of the municipality,
around Cape Santo André, and the area around the city varies between
1200 and 1400. The interior region of Serra de Rates and Monte de São
Félix, the rainiest, receives between 1400 and 1600 mm annually.
North winds normally arise in the summer after midday and are called
Nortadas. Sporadically, during the dry summer, a mass of hot and humid
air, brought by sea winds from the South and West, creates the city's
characteristic fog, which only covers the coast, normally dissipating
with the afternoon sun.
Located on the coastal plain and trapped between the sea and the
mountains of São Félix and Catividade, the city of Póvoa de Varzim is
made up of eleven parts, which are significant areas of the city with
popular and topological differentiation. These neighborhoods are, in
turn, part of two formal administrative structures known as parishes:
U.F. Póvoa de Varzim, Beiriz and Argivai and U.F. Aver-o-Mar, Amorim and
Terroso. To the south, there is urban continuity with Vila do Conde,
where the city grew in the past.
The city developed from the
interior to the coast from the nucleus of Bairro da Matriz, where the
narrow and winding streets of the original Póvoa from the 14th century
still remain. Still today of a single-family nature, there are old
buildings in the neighborhood such as the 17th century house in front of
the Main Church, the 14th century Paços do Concelho, the Solar dos
Carneiros (17th century) and the 19th century houses of Capitão Leite
Ferreira, dos Limas and of Coentrão. The fishing population was
concentrated along the south coast, around Enseada da Póvoa, and in the
18th century the Bairro Sul, a fishing sector with narrow streets
parallel to the coast, was reasonably developed.
The Center, an
old bourgeois neighborhood, is dominated by the service sector and the
busy traditional shopping streets of Junqueira and Avenida Mouzinho de
Albuquerque. In the latter, several services are concentrated, while
Praça do Almada, the heart of the city, is flanked by the City Council
building, municipal departments, banks and other services. In the middle
of the square, in the old public garden, there is, to the west, the
Manueline Pillory, built in 1514, it is a national monument and
represents the municipal emancipation of Póvoa de Varzim. Other notable
squares are the ancestral Largo das Dores and Praça do Marquês de
Pombal, where the public market operates.
On the north coast,
there is the Bairro Norte, the beach sector, and like the Bairro Sul it
is characterized by streets parallel to the coast, but due to its
character it has become quite urbanized. Contiguous to this area is
Agro-Velho, also known as Nova Póvoa, the area of the city that has
the tallest buildings, the largest being the Nova Póvoa Building, built
between 1974 and 1982, has 30 floors and around 90 meters in height.
height. Although it is currently not the tallest, it is the residential
building with the most floors in Portugal.
Very close by are
Barreiros and Parque da Cidade, parts of the city with more recent
planning.
In the interior of the city, Giesteira, with a rural
appearance, originated from the old village of Giesteira, which with
Argivai once constituted the main nucleus of the settlement before the
14th century, whose farmers and fishermen participated in the
installation of "póvoa" on the coast. Argivai is divided in half by the
Santa Clara Aqueduct, a notable Romanesque aqueduct, a national
monument, which was built between 1626 and 1714. Still in the interior,
you can see the old residential centers of Mariadeira, Regufe, Penalves,
Coelheiro and Gândara, with different typologies and small centralities.
The Regufe neighborhood has as its symbol the Regufe Lighthouse, an
example of 19th century iron art. Aver-o-mar is the coastal urban area
that is further north and is also residential in nature, with emphasis
on Quião, also known as Santo André, which had a fishing character,
whose houses grew spontaneously.
Of the various religious
buildings, the 18th century Baroque churches stand out: the Main Church,
the Church of Nossa Senhora das Dores, with six attached chapels, and
the fishing Church of Lapa with its curious lighthouse. On the other
hand, the Misericórdia Church and the Basílica Coração de Jesus
demonstrate the taste for neoclassicalism in more recent times.
Póvoa de Varzim has 12 km of uninterrupted golden sand beaches,
forming coves divided by rocks, famous for being waters rich in iodine.
Most of the city's beaches are family-oriented such as Redonda,
Salgueira and Lagoa and during the summer period they can receive
crowds, while those further away from the heart of the city, such as
Santo André. Salgueira and Aguçadoura are surfing beaches, while Verde
and Quião are dating beaches. Located near the Rio Alto campsite, Rio
Alto beach is often chosen by naturists given the difficult access and
the privacy offered by the sand dunes.
Parque da Cidade, designed
by Sidónio Pardal, is an urban park with almost 90 hectares, currently
only the eastern part with thirty hectares is able to receive visitors.
Despite appearing natural, the park includes hills, islands and lakes
shaped by man and extends from the A28 highway to the Pedreira lagoon.
Monte de São Félix, with panoramic views over the city and the
surrounding rural greenery, is a religious hill with 15 churches that
represent the Via Crucis and a landscaped staircase on the slope of the
hill. It has traditional mills, some converted into tourist residences,
a sanctuary to São Félix, an inn and a monument to the emigrant.
Taking advantage of the forest area of the Rates Environmental Park,
Rates Park is an adventure camp where recreational sports, tree climbing
and walking, horse riding, mountain biking and off-roading can be
practiced in a natural space. Severely damaged by the construction of
highways, the Anjo Forest is expected to have an "urban green" access
area measuring 5.2 hectares in the future.
The green ring of Póvoa de Varzim is made up of the parishes of
Balazar, Estela, Laundos, Rates and the old parishes of Aguçadoura,
Amorim, Beiriz, Navais and Terroso. In these parishes, in addition to
the main towns, there are small villages, namely: Além, Fontainhas,
Gandra, Gestrins, Gresufes, Passô, Sejães and Teso.
The rural
area of Póvoa de Varzim, a land shrouded in legends and ancestral
history, is where the Póvoa, Catividade and São Félix mountains are
located, in Terroso and Laundos, respectively. On the first hill, the
three-millennial Catividade de Terroso is located, one of the main
cities of Castro culture, and on the second, São Félix lived in the
Middle Ages. In the past, the population attributed legends, magical
virtues and therapeutic effects to various sources. Therapeutic sources
related to São Pedro de Rates are located in the parishes of Rates and
Balazar. In Navais, the Fonte da Moura Encantada was associated with
Moura - a female pagan water deity, guardian of enchanted treasures.
Rates is a small historic village that developed around a monastery
founded in 1100 by Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portucale, above an older
temple, with structural evidence from the time of Romanization; It
gained importance due to the legend of Saint Peter of Rates, the first
bishop of Braga, becoming a central location on the Portuguese Way to
Santiago de Compostela. The ancient monastery, known as the Church of
São Pedro de Rates, is one of the main Romanesque monuments in Portugal
and is classified as a national monument.
Close to Rates, the
parish of Balazar gained religious importance in the 20th century when
it became a place of pilgrimage due to Alexandrina, who died in 1955,
who gained fame as a saint, beatified by Pope John Paul II.
The
parishes of Beiriz, Amorim and Aguçadoura are transition areas between
urban and rural environments as they are contiguous to the city. Beiriz
is famous for the Beiriz and Amorim carpets and the typical hot
cornbread — Broa de Amorim. Aguçadoura is located in the sandy lands in
the north of the municipality, next to the parishes of Estela and
Navais. This area of the municipality, dominated by greenhouses,
supplies the metropolitan vegetable markets.
An inhabitant of Póvoa de Varzim is known as Poveiro. According to
the 2001 Census, there were 63,470 inhabitants that year, 38,848 (61.2%)
of whom lived in the city. The number rises to 100,000 when considering
surrounding satellite areas, making it the seventh largest independent
urban area in Portugal, within a polycentric agglomeration of around
three million people.
The urban area has a population density of
3035 inhabitants/km², while the rural and suburban areas have a density
of 355.5 inhabitants/km². Areas further away from the city tend to be
very sparsely populated, becoming denser the closer they are to it.
During the summer the resident population reaches 200 thousand; This
seasonal movement from neighboring cities is motivated by the beach and
29.9% of houses had seasonal use in 2001, the highest in Greater Porto.
Póvoa de Varzim is the youngest city in Greater Porto, with a birth rate
of 13,665 and death rate of 8,330. Unlike other peri-urban areas of
Greater Porto, it was not constituted as a satellite city, with
commuting movements only being significant with Vila do Conde, an area
of urban expansion in Póvoa since the 18th century.
For
centuries a coastal community of eminently Norman origin in which ethnic
isolation was common practice, today's Póvoa de Varzim is a cosmopolitan
city, with the settlement of populations from Vale do Ave on the north
coast of the city during the 20th century being notable, ancient
immigration from Galicia, the Portuguese from Africa and where people of
different nationalities took up residence, with Ukrainians, Brazilians,
Chinese, Russians and Angolans being the most significant communities.
The population of the entire municipality grew by just 1% between
1981 and 1991, accelerating to 15.9% between 1991 and 2001. During this
period, the urban population grew by 23%, with the number of families
increasing significantly, around 44.5%. . The quality of life in the
city, having been noted by the weekly Expresso as the most developed
municipality in the district of Porto and by O Primeiro de Janeiro as
the "Municipality of the Future" in that same district, the development
of infrastructure and the approximately 30 minutes of distance that
separates the city from Porto and Braga, has led to the settlement of
new residents, coming from neighboring cities, such as Guimarães,
Famalicão, Porto and Braga and to the rise of the real estate sector,
which could double the resident population in the medium term.
Due to the practice of endogamy and the caste system, the fishing
community of Póvoa maintained its own ethnic characteristics.
Anthropological and cultural data indicate the colonization of Norse
fishermen during the coastal repopulation phase. In As Praias de
Portugal of 1876, Ramalho Ortigão reports that Pove fishermen constitute
a special "race" on the Portuguese coast; Entirely different from the
Mediterranean type of Ovar or Olhão, the Poveiro is of the "Saxon" type:
red-haired, light-eyed and Herculean. On the other hand, the population
of the interior zone, which was older, was agricultural and of Galician
character, typical northern Portuguese, of smaller stature and dark
complexion. In research published in O poveiro in 1908, the
anthropologist Fonseca Cardoso considered that the poveiro is the result
of a mixture of Phoenicians, Teutons, Jews and, mainly, Normans. In the
book The Races of Europe, the native Poveiros were reported as being
slightly blonder than usual, having broad faces of unknown origin and
robust chins.
Pove emigration occurred essentially during the
19th and 20th centuries. Note that the Poveiros tended to form their own
associations in the host countries, with Poveiros houses in Brazil (Rio
de Janeiro and São Paulo), Germiston in South Africa and Toronto in
Canada. In Rio de Janeiro, the community was known for not wanting
people from other origins, including Portuguese born in other locations,
within their community. In 1920, many people who emigrated to Brazil,
with the support of João do Rio, refused to lose their Portuguese
nationality. This leads many to return and the governor of Angola,
aiming to develop the fishing industry, suggests the creation of a
Poveira colony in Porto Alexandre. Due to movements in the fishing
classes, the fishing areas of Vila do Conde, Esposende and Matosinhos
suffer a strong Pove cultural influence. Half of the population of Vila
do Conde and Matosinhos is of Poveira descent.
Póvoa de Varzim had a diversified economy, whose backbone is based on
tourism (namely gambling, hotels and restaurants) and the food sector
(with emphasis on milk production, horticulture and fishing). According
to the 2001 census, it is in the tertiary sector that the majority of
the 1770 companies based in Póvoa de Varzim operate. There were 33.73%
of companies in the secondary sector and 2.82% were in the primary
sector. The activity rate grew from 48% to 51.1% between 1991 and 2001,
but 3,353 citizens were unemployed in June 2006.
Much of its
economy is focused on the sea. The fishing industry, whether through the
fish that arrives daily at the fishing port of Póvoa de Varzim for the
manufacture of preserves and for sale in the city market, agriculture in
the dunes, the harvesting of sargassum to fertilize the fields and
tourism are the result of its geography. The ancient fishing industry
has lost a lot of importance. However, the average value of fish landed
at its fishing port in 2004 was almost three times greater than that of
the port of Matosinhos and its fishing productivity was also
comparatively higher than that of other national ports.
Despite
its small territorial size, the municipality is an important food hub.
To the north of the city there is a large concentration of horticultural
farms, where vegetables named after Póvoa are grown, such as carrots,
onions, cabbage and Póvoa bunch, the latter popularly used in the
typical cod Christmas dish in Portugal. Producers are grouped in the
Póvoa Varzim Horticulturists Association, called Horpozim. The
development of horticulture took place with the masseira fields. The
mass technique increases agricultural profitability by using large
rectangular depressions excavated in the dunes, with the removed sand
piled into banks that surround the depression. Vineyards are cultivated
on the banks and sargassum, which washes up in large quantities on local
beaches, is used as fertilizer. Nowadays, most of the kneaders have been
replaced by greenhouses.
The interior rural area is an important
dairy basin. The Agros da Lactogal Business Center, the largest producer
of milk and dairy products in Portugal, is under construction and will
be the company's headquarters and will include several departments such
as an exhibition park and laboratories, thus becoming the largest
agricultural project underway in the country. North of Portugal. Also
based in Póvoa, LEICAR is the association of Milk and Meat producers in
Entre-Douro-e-Minho.
Póvoa de Varzim is internationally renowned
for its renewable energy industry. The first wave energy commercial park
in the world, the Aguçadoura Wave Park, is located on its coast. Energy
sustainability is planned with the expansion of the wave farm to provide
energy for 250 thousand inhabitants, 10% of this energy, capable of
supplying a third of the municipality's population, will be offered to
the city. Energie, a local company, has developed a thermodynamic solar
system with a heat pump to generate energy permanently; The success of
this technology internationally led the company to open a large new
factory, which began operating in 2007.
The city is home to the
deepwater mooring rope division of Royal Lankhorst Euronete, a growing
industry that developed from the local ropemaking industry. On the other
hand, the textile industry has low productivity and income. These
industries are located on the outskirts of the city. Of note is the
artisanal textile industry in Beiriz, Terroso and Laundos, and the
timber industry in Rates. In the construction sector, Monte Adriano
stands out, a multinational Portuguese company that is the seventh
largest in the sector in Portugal.
The industrial areas, Parque
Industrial de Laundos and Zona Industrial de Amorim, are connected to
the A28 highway on the outskirts of the city. The Commercial and
Industrial Association of Póvoa de Varzim was founded in 1893. Despite
the weight of Greater Porto's international trade being weak, in 2004 it
represented 1.1% of departures and 0.9% of entries, the coverage rate of
arrivals in in relation to exits exceeded one hundred percent.
The municipality of Póvoa de Varzim is administered by a City Council
made up of nine councilors. There is a Municipal Assembly which is the
legislative body of the municipality, made up of 39 deputies, twelve of
whom are presidents of the parish councils.
After the 2009
municipal elections, five councilors are from the Social Democratic
Party, three from the Socialist Party and one from the CDS - Popular
Party. The president of the City Council is Macedo Vieira, for the PSD,
who was returned to the position with 46.2% of the votes. The majority
of seats in the municipal assembly and parish councils are also
dominated by the PSD. Since the first free elections at the end of the
Estado Novo period, in which only right-wing parties dominated the
municipality, the chamber was governed by the CDS between 1976 and 1989
and since then by the PSD. The CDS saw its popularity decline abruptly
in 1997, becoming the third political force since that time. On the
contrary, the PSD achieved its first absolute majority that same year
with 62.4% of the votes.
Between 1308 and 1836, the municipality
consisted only of the headquarters, whose territory was expanded in
order to get closer to what was believed to be the territory of Villa
Euracini. Aver-o-Mar was originally annexed as a place in the 17th
century due to a growing population of fishermen-farmers. With the
administrative reform of the territory in 1836, Póvoa de Varzim became
made up of several parishes and its territory expanded considerably. On
the other hand, Caxinas and Poça da Barca, with fishing populations
originating from Póvoa de Varzim, continue to be administered by Vila do
Conde, despite Póvoa's centuries-old wishes for them to be integrated
into its municipality. On March 15, 1858, a letter from the Civil
Government mentions that Póvoa exchange the places of Cerca and Quintela
de Argivai (as they are contiguous to Vila do Conde), with those of Poça
da Barca and Regufe, as requested. However, the following day a new
letter declared such annexation harmful to Vila do Conde, despite the
residents of Poça da Barca also having requested the annexation to
Póvoa.
The coat of arms of Póvoa de Varzim is old and its origin
is unknown. It is composed of a golden Sun and a silver moon; in the
center a golden cross terminated by two silver anchor arms, representing
safety at sea. Above the cross, a ring, from which falls a golden rosary
that is intertwined in the arms of the anchor, representing faith and
divine protection. The shield is topped by a mural crown made up of five
silver towers, as a sign of its status as a city. The flag is broken
white and blue. Between 1939 and 1958, a coat of arms and a flag were
used, which aroused controversy among the people; the shield was now
made of gold, covered by a red net, and above it was the sea, in which a
black boat sailed with a flat red flag. The population did not accept
this new symbolism and years later the old one would be restored.
Póvoa de Varzim is part of a network of twinned European cities, where the development of the European project is valued, the promotion of mobility of European citizens and the establishment of bonds of friendship and cooperation. For his work in this field he received the Gold Stars for City Twinnings in 1995 and 2005 by the European Commission.
The Escola Superior de Estudos Industriales e Gestão (ESEIG), part of
the Polytechnic of Porto, was founded in 1990. The school was based on
two campuses, one on Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque and the other in
Vila do Conde, but was unified into a single campus in 2001. The new
campus is 31,544 m² and includes equipment such as an auditorium and
research spaces. ESEIG offers undergraduate and postgraduate education.
Academic choices focus on industrial engineering, industrial design,
biomedical engineering, management, human resources, accounting and
corporate finance.
Póvoa de Varzim has public, parochial and
independent schools spread across the city and rural areas. Public
education in the municipality is provided by five vertical groups:
Flávio Gonçalves, Cego do Maio, Aver-o-Mar, Campo Aberto and Rates.
These groups bring together daycare centers and schools up to the ninth
grade from different areas of the municipality and are headed by the 2nd
and 3rd Cycle Basic Education Schools that gave their names to the
respective groups. Private schools in Póvoa de Varzim are mainly run by
parishes or Catholics, but the Grande Colégio da Póvoa de Varzim in the
urban area and the Escola Agrícola Campo Verde are eminent independent
schools, in addition to MAPADI which is a large complex for children
with the syndrome of Down. The Colégio do Sagrado Coração de Jesus,
where Agustina Bessa-Luís and the girls from the upper fishing class
studied, aims to be a cutting-edge Catholic school.
The secondary
schools (from 10th to 12th year) are located in the city center, they
are Escola Secundária Eça de Queirós and Escola Secundária Rocha
Peixoto. Colégio de Amorim is an independent school in the parish of
Amorim that also offers education at secondary level. Eça de Queirós was
a high school created in 1904 and still maintains its humanist vocation
and Rocha Peixoto was an old industrial and commercial school created in
1924.
The Rocha Peixoto Municipal Library, established in 1880,
has been housed in this building since 1991, and has reading centers in
Aguçadoura, Amorim, Balazar, Laúndos and Rates, in addition to the Diana
Bar beach library. A little more than a quarter of the population
already has secondary or higher qualifications. The level of illiteracy
in Póvoa de Varzim was reduced between 1991 and 2001 from 7 to 5
percent.
Póvoa de Varzim is served by a transport network that uses sea, land
and air routes. The land access infrastructure is made up of highways,
the national road system and the light metro network. These
infrastructures and the airport, bus station, marina and seaport
terminals are used daily by thousands of people to access the city.
Public transport within the city of Póvoa de Varzim is predominantly
managed by Litoral Norte - Transportes Urbanos da Póvoa de Varzim, the
other lines are managed by Transdev. The Póvoa de Varzim Bus Station is
a station for buses and coaches (buses) that provide transport in the
surrounding region, namely in the rural area of the municipality,
Porto, the Minho region and Galicia.
Situated just 18 km from the
city center, Sá Carneiro International Airport (OPO) is one of the
country's main international airports. The Póvoa de Varzim Aerodrome,
official as S. Miguel de Laundos, is a 270 meter long runway for
ultralights and other small aircraft.
Line B of the Porto Metro
connects Póvoa de Varzim to the city of Porto and the airport in two
types of services, normal and "express". The line operates on an old
railway that came into operation in 1875 and was deactivated in 2002 to
make way for the metro. The railway was expanded and reached Famalicão
in 1881, having been deactivated in 1995 and plans are being made to
adapt the canal into a cycle path. American cars appeared in 1874 and
remained on city streets until the early years of the 20th century.
The city is connected by road on a North-South axis from Valença to
Porto via the A28 motorway. The A7 and A11 motorways cross the A28 and
on an East-West axis, through the South and North of the city, in that
order, connect the city to Guimarães and Braga. Despite having lost
their usefulness as routes for medium and long distances, the National
Roads have acquired municipal interest: the EN13, which cuts the city in
half in the North-South direction, is used by motorists coming from the
parishes to the north and the city of Vila do Conde, to the south, to
access the city center. The EN205 and EN206 are used by travelers coming
from the interior of the municipality.
The city's traditional
road network, made up of parallel connecting roads towards the sea, can
be seen by the importance of the following roads: Avenida do Mar,
Avenida Vasco da Gama, Avenida Mouzinho de Albuquerque and Avenida
Santos Graça. Avenida dos Descobrimentos and Avenida dos Banhos, on the
other hand, run parallel to the coast. The growth of the city towards
the interior and north of the municipality made the ring organization
gain importance through the configuration of Avenida 25 de Abril, an
urban belt route.
The first health care structure, the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da
Póvoa de Varzim, was opened in 1756. The city's hospitals are the Centro
Hospitalar da Póvoa de Varzim e Vila do Conde (public) and the Hospital
Clipóvoa (private). The public hospital, despite being recently
expanded, suffers from a lack of quality spaces. Due to this, it is
planned to build a modern hospital to serve the populations of both
municipalities, which will be built on the border between the two
cities.
The Póvoa de Varzim Health Center is a public primary
health care structure in the city center with six extensions spread
across the municipality: Aguçadoura, Amorim, Aver-o-Mar, Pneumological
Diagnosis Center of Póvoa, Pescadores and São Pedro de Rates. The Santa
Casa da Misericórdia of Póvoa de Varzim operates the Center for Studies
and Support for Paramyloidosis (CEAP), the only institution of its kind
in the country for patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy,
genetically transmitted and prevalent in Póvoa de Varzim.
The Municipal Police of Póvoa de Varzim, one of the first to emerge
in the country, is an administrative police that operates in the
municipality's area and reports directly to the mayor. The Public
Security Police (PSP) operates in the city's parishes and the Republican
National Guard (GNR) in the extensive rural area. The GNR Fiscal Brigade
is housed in the Fortaleza da Nossa Senhora da Conceição, and the
Maritime Police are also located nearby. The lifeguard station of the
Instituto de Socorro a Náufragos is located in the cove. Póvoa is one of
the twelve national maritime borders controlled by the Foreigners and
Borders Service.
In terms of crime, Póvoa de Varzim is considered
by the PSP as a "calm" area in all aspects, with violent crime being
practically non-existent. Crime mainly consists of petty thefts from
homes, stores and cars.
The Royal Humanitarian Association of
Volunteer Firefighters of Póvoa de Varzim emerged in 1877 after a
meeting of the population, adopting the name "Real" in 1904 given by
King D. Carlos, a title it maintains to this day.
The Practical
School of Services, to the east of the city, is the national
headquarters for military administration instruction, encompasses the
Military Administration Battalion and as part of the restructuring of
Army services, the previously designated Practical School of Military
Administration, became 2006 to also house material and transport
services, increasing its functions and number of military personnel