DISTRICT OF LISBON (LISBOA): LOURINHÃ (PORTUGAL)

LOURINHÃ

39º 15' 00'' N; 9º 19' 00'' W

Lourinhã is a Portuguese village based in the municipality of Lourinhã located on the coast of the West region. The municipality is located at the northwest end of the Lisbon district, with a total area of 147.17 km² and 26,246 inhabitants (in 2021).

History

Avenida António José Almeida in 1914

The region of Lourinhã has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Lourinhã GEAL Museum has traces and objects from the human presence in the region from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and also the Chalcolithic.

There were several successive waves of peoples who left the marks of their passage in the region until the arrival of the Romans; this civilizing action definitively shaped the way of life of the people in that region.

On the 21st of August 1808, one of the battles of the Peninsular War took place in the parish of Vimeiro, between Portuguese-English troops and French troops. The municipality of Lourinhã was under French rule, but the Sintra Convention made the French leave Portugal.

Romans

Many peoples passed through Lourinhã over the centuries, the Iberians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turduli, the Carthaginians and the Romans.

Lourinhã originated in a Roman village, Laurinius. This village was bathed by an arm of the sea, so it had a navigable port. Currently, due to marine retreat, the village is only bathed by a small river called Rio Grande.

Geography

This village has access to the main cities of Portugal and Lisbon, which is 63 kilometers away, namely thanks to the A8. The municipality of Lourinhã is limited to the north by the municipalities of Peniche and Óbidos, to the south by the municipality of Torres Vedras, to the east by the municipalities of Bombarral and Cadaval and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

With 147.2 km², Lourinhã is located 65 kilometers north of Lisbon, Lourinhã is located in the Oeste Region, surrounded by 12 kilometers of coastline. It is part of the Coastal Estremadura region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley.

The municipality is limited to the north by the district of Leiria and the municipalities of Peniche and Óbidos, to the northeast by Bombarral, to the southeast by Cadaval, to the south by Torres Vedras and to the west by the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

The territory of Lourinhã is divided by several rivers, the Rio Grande, the Rio Galvão, the Atouguia and even streams such as the Ribeira de São Domingos. To the north, the landscape on the coast is more rocky, the sea coasts of Lourinhã, Atalaia and Ribamar are high and rocky, and are without cliffs as seen in Cabo Carvoeiro in the Berlengas Archipelago (Peniche).

Due to its geographic duality it is possible to have large areas that allow the development of agriculture; around 80% of the municipality's area is used for agriculture, mainly for Rocha pear, vines and potatoes.

Geology

Lourinhã gives its name to a geological formation from the Upper Jurassic, called the Lourinhã Formation, rich and famous for dinosaur finds.

Climate

In Lourinhã, the average annual temperature is 16°C. The municipality has an oceanic climate due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Temperatures can vary in summer from 24°C to 30°C and nights in the municipality are cool. In winter, negative temperatures are very rare, but can go down to -4°, however, during the years (2005 and 2006), the county was affected by snowfall. The parish of Lourinhã is known for its rainfall and is often affected by floods in autumn.

Economy

Lourinhã's economy is mainly focused on fishing, agriculture, commerce, farming, civil construction, forestry and industry. About 80% of the territory of the municipality of Lourinhã is used for agriculture, with potatoes, Rocha pears, and vineyards being the basis for the production of Lourinhã Spirits, among others.

Tourism is an increasingly important source of income, drawn from the extensive beaches and, more recently, the municipality's paleontological reserves, which include fossilized bones, footprints, eggs and even dinosaur embryos from the Jurassic period. Many of them can be seen today at the Lourinhã Museum.

Parishes

The municipality of Lourinhã is divided into 8 parishes:

Lourinhã and Atalaia, with 11,755 inhabitants;

Miragaia and Marteleira, with 3 583 inhabitants;

Moita dos Ferreiros, with 1 734 inhabitants;

Reguengo Grande, with 1 626 inhabitants;

Ribamar, with 2 141 inhabitants;

Santa Bárbara, with 1,943 inhabitants;

São Bartolomeu dos Galegos e Moledo, with 1 483 inhabitants;

Vimeiro, with 1 470 inhabitants.

In total, the municipality is occupied by 25,735 inhabitants. The parish of Lourinhã and Atalaia is the most populous, with around 12,000 inhabitantsl and the parish with the fewest inhabitants is Vimeiro, with around 1,500 inhabitants.

The parishes of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos, Lourinhã and the village of Ribamar have seen major real estate construction. The parish of São Bartolomeu dos Galegos had a very large increase in population, several houses were built and also the parish school.

Tourism

Lourinhã is a municipality with great tourist potential thanks to its 12 kilometers of beaches, but also for its natural and architectural heritage.

The place of Praia da Areia Branca, is one of the best known beaches in the West region. This beach has numerous facilities that favor tourism such as the Pousada de Juventude da Praia da Areia Branca, several shops and tourist residences.

The famous Museum of Lourinhã can show dinosaurs such as Dinheirosaurus, Lourinhasaurus and even Lourinhanosaurus, dinosaur eggs are also on display. The Lourinhã museum receives around 16,000 visitors a year and several scientists from all over the world. Lourinhã is now known as "Lourinhã, Capital of Dinosaurs" and even "Portuguese Capital of Dinosaurs". The oldest machimosaurus were also found in the region, animals from the group from which crocodiles descend. In 2018, the Dinoparque opened, with an area of 25 hectares in Pinhal dos Camarnais, where the former municipal dump was located, and will consist of an open-air museum, where models of dinosaurs are displayed in real scale (about 250 models), a covered area for displaying paleontological finds and a playful-pedagogical area with live science activities for schools. 200,000 visitors a year are expected.

County beaches

With its 12 kilometers of coastline, the municipality of Lourinhã combines with beautiful beaches and peaceful bays. It is the parishes on the coast of Lourinhã that have the beaches, namely Ribamar, Atalaia and Lourinhã.

These are conditions that invite you to practice various water sports such as spearfishing, underwater photography, surfing, jet skiing, and others.

The beaches in the municipality of Lourinhã are, from north to south:

Praia de Vale Pombas (Lourinhã)

Praia de Paimogo (Lourinhã)

Praia do Caniçal (Lourinhã)

Praia de Vale Frades (Lourinhã)

Praia da Malhada (Lourinhã)

Praia da Areia Branca (Lourinhã)

Praia de Areal (Lourinhã)

Praia do Mexilhoal (Atalaia)

Praia da Peralta (Atalaia)

Praia de Porto das Barcas (Atalaia)

Praia do Zimbral (Ribamar)

Praia de Porto Dinheiro (Ribamar)

Praia de Valmitão (Ribamar)

Patrimony

Religious

Church of the Convent Santo António

Matriz da Lourinha Church

Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels (Lourinhã)

Chapel of São Sebastião (Lourinhã)

Military and civilians

Lourinha Castle

Fort of Nossa Senhora dos Anjos de Paimogo: built in 1674 to defend the beach of the same name; of baroque architecture, it is the only example of fortification built after the "Restauração" (return to independence from Portugal in 1640); it lost its military character at the end of the war against Spain and the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668. The fort was classified as a public interest in 1957. In 2018 it was threatened with landslide due to beach erosion