Vinhais, Bragança, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Vinhais.

History

 * Vinhais is a municipality in the district of Bragança in Northern Portugal.
 * Vinhais is an ancient town, older than the founding of Portugal. It owes its name to the abudance of vineyards.
 * The settlement was called Veniatia in the time of the Romans.
 * Suebi, Visigoths, Vandals and Moors were all present in the region.
 * In 1403 it became Portugal again as it had been occupied several times by the Castilians.
 * Vinhais is a small, rather isolated municipality, with aging rural population. It relies on tourism without industry.
 * Vinhais is composed of 26 parishes.
 * The population of Vinhais is roughly 9,000 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 Bragança Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil e Predial e Cartório Notarial de Vinhais Lg. Arrabalde 5320-318 Vinhais PORTUGAL Phone: 273771131 Email: [mailto:crcpncom.vinhais@dgrn.mj.pt crcpncom.vinhais@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 Bragança 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
Ponferrada Spain Family History Center Calle Batalla del Salado, 1 PONFERRADA LEON 24403, 1 PORTUGAL Phone: 34 987 415 298 Email: [mailto:ES_Ponferrada@familyhistorymail.org ES_Ponferrada@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Ponferrada Spain Family History Center