Póvoa de Varzim, Porto, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim.

History

 * Póvoa de Varzim also spelled Povoa de Varzim, is the northernmost municipality in the Porto Metropolitan Area.
 * Póvoa de Varzim was established as a municipality in 1308
 * Discoveries of Acheulean stone tools suggest Póvoa de Varzim has been inhabited since the Lower Palaeolithic, around 200,00 BC.
 * By the 9th or 8th centuries BC, the city area covered 12,000m or 3 acres.
 * The Romans took over the area in 138BC but with the fall of the Roman Empire, Sueni populations established themselves in the countryside. This was on March 26, 953 during the rule of Mumadona Dias, Countess of Portugal.
 * In the 960's Vikings attacked the region and the Moors attacked in 997, with the Norman pirates attacking in 1015-1016.
 * In 1258 Afonso became king after a dispute by his brother Sancho II of Portugal, and the land became the property of the king.
 * In 1308, King Dinis granted a charter, the Foral, giving the royal land to 54 families of Varzim, these had to found a municipality known as Póvoa around Praça Velha, siding Varzim Old Town, controlled by the knights.
 * In 1367, King Ferdinand I confirmed the charters, privileges and uses of Póvoa de Varzim.
 * Póvoa de Varzim is divided into 7 civil parishes.
 * The population of Póvoa de Varzim is roughly 63,400 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 Póvoa de Varzim address phone number [mailto:email email address]

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Póvoa de Varzim address phone number [mailto:email email address]

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 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]