Bisalhães

Bisalhães
coat of arms map
Basic data
Region :	Norte
Sub-region :	Douro
District :	Vila Real
Concelho :	Vila Real
Freguesia :	Mondrões
Coordinates :	41 ° 18 ′  N , 7 ° 47 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 18 ′  N , 7 ° 47 ′  W
Postal code :	5000-325

Black ceramic vessel closed with a cork at a well in Bisalhães

Bisalhães is a village in the Mondrões municipality . It is best known for its traditional black ceramics, which can also be found in the coat of arms of the Mondrões municipality, to which Bisalhães belongs.

Traditional ceramics production in Bisalhães

The tradition goes back to the 16th century. The local black pottery production was first mentioned directly in 1709, in a document that reports on the marriage of a woman from Bisalhães to a potter from Gondar .

Today, however, this tradition is seriously threatened by aging, rural exodus and a lack of interest from the younger generation. The district administration of Vila Real therefore submitted an application to UNESCO in 2015 to recognize the local pottery tradition as a threatened cultural heritage worth protecting.

In 2016, UNESCO recognized the Bisalhães pottery tradition as intangible cultural heritage and, due to the very few practicing potters remaining, included it on the list of intangible cultural heritage in urgent need of conservation .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hugo Vaz: Barro preto de Gondar: o design na olaria tradicional. Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Escola Superior de Media Artes e Design 2018, digitally freely available only the cover sheet of the work
2. ↑ Official application video Bisalhães black pottery manufacturing process , video clip of the city council of Vila Real, available on YouTube on January 12, 2020
3. ↑ Bisalhães black pottery manufacturing process , UNESCO entry, accessed January 12, 2020