Barcelos, Portugal

Barcelos (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɐɾˈsɛluʃ] ⓘ) is a city and a municipality in Braga District in the Minho Province, in the north of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 120,391,[1] in an area of 378.90 km2.[2] With 60 parishes, it is the municipality with the highest number of parishes in the country. It is one of the growing municipalities in the country, and is well known for its textile and adobe industries, as well as its horseback riding events and "figurado" style of pottery, which are comical figurines with accentuated features of farmers, folk musicians, and nativity scene characters.

Barcelos
Municipality
Top: The entrance to the city of Barcelos coming from the parish of Barcelinhos; middle: Igreja Matriz de Barcelos; City Hall and statue of Bishop António Barroso; bottom: The medieval tower; Tower view of the Church of Bom Jesus da Cruz and the gardens
Flag of Barcelos
Flag
Coat of arms of Barcelos
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 41°31′N 8°37′W
Country Portugal
RegionNorte
Intermunic. comm.Cávado
DistrictBraga
Parishes60
Government
 • PresidentMário Constantino Lopes (PSD)
Area
 • Total378.90 km2 (146.29 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total120,391
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Websitehttp://www.cm-barcelos.pt

Barcelos is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a Crafts and Folk Art City.[3]

History

Originally a Roman settlement, it expanded and became the seat of the First Duke of Bragança in the 15th century. The palace of the Dukes of Bragança was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and is now an open-air museum.

The town is on the Portuguese Way, a Christian pilgrimage route connecting to the Camino de Santiago.

Construction of the Barcelos Bridge, crossing the Cávado River, dates to 1325. The Bridge was deemed a National Monument in 1910.

Rooster
The Rooster of Barcelos is often used as a symbol of Portugal.

The town is closely associated with the Rooster of Barcelos (Portuguese: o galo de Barcelos), which often serves as a national symbol of Portugal.

One of the many legends of the rooster involves the town's long history along a pilgrimage route. The story involves a wealthy man throwing a grand party, which ended after the silver had gone missing. Among the guests was a pilgrim, who was accused of theft, and pleaded innocence before a judge. Unswayed by the pilgrim's claims, the judge sentenced the pilgrim to be hanged. As final protest, the pilgrim invoked divine intercession: the rooster being prepared for the judge's dinner would crow three times as proof of his innocence. As the execution approached, the judge at his dinner table watched the roasted bird miraculously crow three times. The judge quickly released the pilgrim, who would later return to Barcelos and commission a statue commemorating the divine providence.

Climate

Barcelos has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with warm summers and very wet, mild winters.

Climate data for Barcelos, 1985-2021, altitude: 36 m (118 ft)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 9.0
(48.2)		 9.9
(49.8)		 12.0
(53.6)		 13.3
(55.9)		 16.1
(61.0)		 18.8
(65.8)		 20.7
(69.3)		 20.5
(68.9)		 19.0
(66.2)		 15.9
(60.6)		 12.0
(53.6)		 9.9
(49.8)		 14.8
(58.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 175.0
(6.89)		 138.1
(5.44)		 116.7
(4.59)		 125.9
(4.96)		 88.3
(3.48)		 40.9
(1.61)		 25.2
(0.99)		 28.0
(1.10)		 67.1
(2.64)		 178.2
(7.02)		 185.9
(7.32)		 182.8
(7.20)		 1,352.1
(53.24)
Source: Portuguese Environment Agency[4]

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 61 civil parishes (freguesias):[5]

Notable citizens
Paio Peres Correia
Nelson Oliveira, 2013

Sport

Sport

Barcelos is home to Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (football) and Óquei Clube de Barcelos (rink hockey).

Twin Cities
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Barcelos (Portugal).
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barcelos.

References
  1. Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. Eurostat Archived October 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Barcelos | Creative Cities Network". en.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  4. "Barcelos (04F/01C)". APA. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. Diário da República. "Law nr. 11-A/2013, pages 552 21-24" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  6. Ordem dos Advogados Archived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
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