Vila Flor, Bragança, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Vila Flor is a municipality in the district of Bragança in Portugal. And is referred to as the Portuguese Capital of Olive Oil.
 * In 1286, King Denis who was traveling through the burg, which was known then as Póvoa d´Álem Sabor, fell in love with the local landscape and renamed it Vila Flor.
 * In 1295, by order of the King, construction of a walled city with five gates was built to protect the settlement and guard the Portuguese interests.
 * During the Middle Ages it became the home of many fleeing Jewish families. They settled in the territory and started farms and businesses.
 * King Manuel conferred on the settlement an official charter, which he later reformulated in May of 1512, to expel the Jews from the municipality, and was responsible for destroying the remaining homes.
 * Vila Flor is divided into 14 civil parishes.
 * The population of Vila Flor is roughly 6,700 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 de Vila Flor Vila Flor 5360-335 Vila Flor PORTUGAL Phone: 278512378 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.vila-flor@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.vila-flor@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
Viseu Portugal Family History Center Rua Cândido dos Reis 81 VISEU 3510-056 PORTUGAL Phone: +351 351-32425559 Email: [mailto:PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org PT_Viseu@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Viseu Portugal Family History Center