Barcelos, Braga, Portugal Genealogy

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

History

 * Barcelos is a city and a municipality in Braga District in the Minho Province in northern Portugal.
 * Barcelos originally was a Roman settlement, but expanded and became the seat of the first Duke of Bragança in the 15th century.
 * In 1755 an earthquake destroyed the palace of the Dukes of Bragança and is an open-air museum
 * The population of Barcelos is roughly 120,400 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 Braga Civil Registration.

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

Conservatória Registo Civil de Barcelos R. Fernando Magalhães 344 – R/C 4750-290 Barcelos PORTUGAL Phone: 253809150 Email: [mailto:crc.barcelos@dgrn.mj.pt crc.barcelos@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 Braga 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
Braga Portugal Family History Center Rua Luís António Correia 120 BRAGA 4715-310 PORTUGAL Email: [mailto:PT_Braga@familyhistorymail.org PT_Braga@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Braga Portugal Family History Center