Bairro da Matriz is the historical neighourhood of the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 city of Póvoa de Varzim

Póvoa de Varzim

Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...

 and part of the Matriz/Mariadeira district.
Bairro da Matriz was a significant settlement in the 14th century, whose nucleus was the centre, whence the modern city grew, being a neighbourhood composed by old single family homes.

History

In 1308, King Denis wrote a charter in which the King gave his royal land in Varzim to 54 local families; these would have to create a "Póvoa", a new settlement in Varzim, just south of the primitive Roman and Early Medieval core of the Town of Varzim, controlled by knights under a feudal structure. Praça Velha

Praça Velha

thumb|The new First Church of Póvoa de Varzim, in Baroque style, started being built in 1743.Praça Velha , formerly known as Praça , was the primitive civic center and the market square of the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal...

, the new civic center appears in this context, in the site of the "Póvoa Nova de Varzim" (The New Settlement of Varzim), which included the free fair, the town hall and a new church - the Madre Deus Church.

On February 18, 1743, the new First Church of Póvoa de Varzim started to be constructed near the town hall. By the end of the 18th century, it was noticeable that the Town Hall and the square were too small for an expanding urbanity, and the Royal Provision in 1791, created the Praça Nova

Praça do Almada

thumb|The Square's plate. The Square name honors an 18th century politician that prompted Póvoa de Varzim's urban development in the late 1700s.Praça do Almada is the civic center of the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal, and is located in Póvoa de Varzim City Center...

(the New Square) where the new Town Hall was built.

Festivals

The main festivals of the neighbourhood are the Saint Anthony on June 13 in Cidral Square; Matriz's Saint Peter on June 29, Senhor do Bonfim in Nova Sintra area, and the Senhora das Dores festival on September 15.
Portugal°N date=December 2010°W