Paredes de Coura, Viana do Castelo, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Paredes de Coura.

History

 * Paredes de Coura is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo in Portugal.
 * Paredes de Coura is divided into 16 civil parishes.
 * The population of Paredes de Coura is roughly 9,200 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 Viana do Castelo 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 Lg. 5 Outubro Paredes Coura 4940-521 Paredes de Coura PORTUGAL Phone: 251782250 Email: [mailto:crcpcom.paredes-coura@dgrn.mj.pt crcpcom.paredes-coura@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 Viana do Castelo 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
Vigo Spain Family History Center Av Garcia Barbon, 95 Bajo VIGO PONTEVEDRA 36201 PORTUGAL Phone: 34 986-264-931 Email: [mailto:ES_Vigo@familyhistorymail.org ES_Vigo@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Vigo Spain Family History Center