Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Caldas da Rainha.

History

 * Inhabited by the Romans.
 * Part of Lusitania, the ancient region.
 * Queen Leonor founded the town.
 * named after the regions waters which had special curative powers.
 * 21 March 1511 it became a town.
 * In 1821 it became a municipality.
 * The population of Caldas da Rainha is roughly 52000 people.

Online Records
After 100 years, all civil registration records are sent to the municipality's district office.

To view online civil registration records, visit Leiria Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
The following is a list of civil registration offices within the municipality.

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Caldas da Rainha Pç. 25 Abril 2500-110 Caldas da Rainha PORTUGAL Phone: 262840100 Email: [mailto:crc.caldas-rainha@dgrn.mj.pt crc.caldas-rainha@dgrn.mj.pt]

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Online Records
In 1910, the Portuguese government transferred all birth, marriage, and death records from all the country's parishes to the district offices. These records are now in either District or National archives. Many of these records have been digitized and can be viewed at the District Archive's website or on FamilySearch.

To view online records, visit Leiria Church Records.

Contact a Parish
If you are seeking church records created more recently than 1910, it is possible to obtain them by writing to the parish where the record was created. Writing to a parish is not always a reliable way to obtain information, because officials may or may not respond.

Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa lists websites for the 20 Dioceses of Portugal. Once on the Diocesan website, use the listing of parishes (paróquias) to locate contact information for the parish in question.

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Cemeteries
Cemeteries did not become popular in Portugal until the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, individuals were buried in their parish church cemetery, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place.

Family History Centers
Leiria Portugal Family History Center Rua Henrique Sommer 24 LEIRIA 2410-107 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 44-823-617 Email: [mailto:PT_Leiria@familyhistorymail.org PT_Leiria@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Leiria Portugal Family History Center