Figueira da Foz

Figueira da Foz (pron. IPA: [fi'gɐiɾɐ dɐ fɔʃ]) is a city of the district of Coimbra, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the Mondego river, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by the Serra (mountain) da Boa Viagem. The municipality has about 62,601 inhabitants.

It is a coastal city with several beaches, summer and seaport facilities in the Atlantic Ocean coast. As a city of tourism it plays an important part in the centre of the country. A zone of legal gambling, you find here one of the biggest casinos of the Iberian Peninsula – the Casino Peninsular.

1 Economy
2 History
3 Parishes
4 Beaches of Figueira da Foz
5 Sports
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Economy

The city is an important industrial centre, producing wood pulp and paper (Soporcel - a Portucel Soporcel company; CELBI - an Altri company) and glass (Saint-Gobain Mondego - a Saint-Gobain company). It also has notable naval construction and fish industries, as well as a factory of the CIMPOR Group installed in the Mondego Cape (Cabo Mondego).

With its old and renowned casino (Casino da Figueira), the marina, several hotels, restaurants and other tourist facilities, Figueira is actually a very important Atlantic beach resort.

[edit] History

According to the legend the place’s name is due to a fig tree, which stood at the quay of Salmanha, where the fishermen used to tie up their boats. The historian Nelson Borges said, however, that Figueira comes from the word "fagaria", which means "opening, huge mouth". Foz comes from the Latin word "fouces" = "mouth of a river", and Mondego comes from the pre-romanic expressions "mond" = "mouth" and "aec"= "river". That means, Figueira da Foz would be "the river’s mouth opening".

Some historical traces show that people were settling in this region since the neolithic age. The oldest known document, however, dates from the year 1096. In this an abbot named Pedro donates estates, which belonged to the church of S. Julião, to the cathedral Sé Velha of Coimbra.

Knowing the great importance rivers had in the development of cities and of ancient civilizations, the mouth of the Mondego must have played a central role for the fixation of men in this region and for the formation of settlements, which were the beginning of the city of Figueira da Foz. It was elevated to "vila" (small town) on March 12th, 1771 and turned city on September 20th, 1882.

Discovered as a sea resort by the end of the 19th century, it gained great reputation in the 1920‘s and 1930‘s. The city had the Potuguese nickname of Rainha das Praias which means "Queen of the Beaches".

[edit] Parishes

Alhadas
Alqueidão
Bom Sucesso
Borda do Campo
Brenha
Buarcos (Figueira da Foz)
Ferreira-a-Nova
Lavos
Maiorca
Marinha das Ondas
Moinhos da Gândara
Paião
Quiaios
Santana
São Julião da Figueira da Foz (Figueira da Foz)
São Pedro (Figueira da Foz)
Tavarede (Figueira da Foz)
Vila Verde (Figueira da Foz)

[edit] Beaches of Figueira da Foz

Praia da Figueira da Foz - Relógio
Praia da Gala - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Murtinheira - Figueira da Foz
Praia do Cabo Mondego - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Leirosa - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Costa de Lavos - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Orbitur - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Cova - Cova Gala (Figueira da Foz)
Praia do Cabedelo - Figueira da Foz
Praia da Claridade - Figueira da Foz
Praia de Buarcos - Tamargueira (Figueira da Foz)
Praia do Vale do Emide - Figueira da Foz
Praia de Quiaios - Figueira da Foz

[edit] Sports

Figueira da Foz is home to Associação Naval 1º Maio, a football team of the main Portuguese football league. The city is also home for a basketball team, Ginásio Clube Figueirense which competes in the Portuguese basketball league. WNBA player Ticha Penicheiro was born in the city.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Photos from Figueira da Foz

Municipalities of the District of Coimbra
Arganil \| Cantanhede \| Coimbra \| Condeixa-a-Nova \| Figueira da Foz \| Góis \| Lousã \| Mira \| Miranda do Corvo Montemor-o-Velho \| Oliveira do Hospital \| Pampilhosa da Serra \| Penacova \| Penela \| Soure \| Tábua \| Vila Nova de Poiares