Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Early paleolithic inhabitants.
 * Moorish castle from 9th-6th century BC still stands.
 * UNESCO world heritage site.
 * Roman remains from the 1st-2nd century BC
 * granted municipality status in 30BC by Octavius.
 * there is always fog in the area.
 * During reconquista (9th century) the Christian forces isolated the Moorish castle.
 * 1093-1096 it was conquered twice.
 * In 1109 the Moorish castle was conquered again.
 * Supported by the crusaders in October 1147 the castle surrendered.
 * A charter was signed on 9th January 1154.
 * Thriving community in the 12th and 13th centuries.
 * Five municipal scribes lost their lives to the plague in 1350, there were probably more deaths just not recorded.
 * During the dynastic crisis it was the last place to surrender.
 * A principal residence and summer estate of the royal court.
 * From 1550 on members of the aristocracy started to build estates.
 * a monastery and a church were built in the later half of the 1500's.
 * Thirty people were hanged for the cult of Sebastianism in 1585.
 * 4000 residents in 1640.
 * A center for religious orders in 17th and 18th centuries.
 * The center of Sintra was destroyed and many lost their lives in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
 * The population of Sintra is roughly 400,000 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 Lisboa (Lisbon) Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Sintra Av. Heliodoro Salgado 59 – Lj. 2710-575 Sintra PORTUGAL Phone: 219239210 Fax: 219239219 Email: [mailto:crc.sintra@dgrn.mj.pt crc.sintra@dgrn.mj.pt l]

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 Lisboa (Lisbon) 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 their parish church, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place. The following list may be helpful in twentieth-century research.

Name of Cemetery Website Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]

Name of Cemetery Website Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]

Family History Centers
Name of nearest center Website/page on FS wiki Address Phone number [mailto:email email address]