Vila do Conde, Porto, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Vila do Conde.

History

 * Vila do Conde is a municipality in the District of Porto in Portugal.
 * Vila do Conde is one of the oldest settlements in northern Portugal.
 * Paleolithic artifacts have been discovered in sites in the parishes, dating from 100,00 to 15,00 years.
 * In other parishes discoveries have been made linking to the Bronze Age and Neolithic periods.
 * Vila do Conde dates its origins back to the founding of the Portuguese territory, 953.
 * In 1200 Sancho of Portugal is linked to the founding of this settlement.
 * Roman occupation of the region continue to be discovered, and throughout the municipality several digs are going on.
 * In the 19th century, French troops were responsible for the destruction and pillaging of many infrastructures and deaths.
 * In 1997, the urbanized area was elevated to the status of city.
 * Vila do Conde is divided into 21 parishes.
 * The population of Vila do Conde is roughly 79,500 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 Porto Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Vila do Conde Pç. Luís Camões 9, 2º Vila Conde 4480-719 Vila do Conde PORTUGAL Phone: 252632079 Fax: 252645708 Email: [mailto:crc.vconde@dgrn.mj.pt crc.vconde@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 Porto 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
Povoa do Varzim Portugal Family History Center Rua Bocal da Gândara 700 POVOA DE VARZIM 4490-557 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 351-252626072 Email: [mailto:PT_PovoaDoVarzim@familyhistorymail.org PT_PovoaDoVarzim@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Povoa do Varzim Portugal Family History Center