Praia (Sao Mateus)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Praia (Sao Mateus)
coat of arms map
The coat of arms is still missing
Praia (São Mateus) (Azores)
Praia (Sao Mateus)
Basic data
Autonomous Region : Azores
Concelho : Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Coordinates : 39 ° 3 ′  N , 27 ° 58 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 3 ′  N , 27 ° 58 ′  W
Residents: 836 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface: 12.82 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density : 65 inhabitants per km²
The municipality of Praia (São Mateus) in the east of Graciosa Island

Praia (São Mateus) is a Portuguese parish ( freguesia ) in the Santa Cruz da Graciosa district on the Azores island of Graciosa . It has 836 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2011). The port of Praias is the most important of the entire island, as the ferries to the other islands of the Azores dock here.

history

Due to its location on a sandy bay, which offered itself as an anchorage shortly after Graciosa was discovered, Praia is one of the oldest villages on Graciosa Island. The small, offshore island of Ilhéu da Praia also made it possible for the ships to dock relatively safely. In 1546 Praia was given the city charter of a "vila", which literally means "small town" in German. The port and the successful cultivation of wine soon led to the modest prosperity of the place, which also attracted pirates - e. B. Praia was attacked and looted by English pirates in 1691, and many residents were abducted. However, Santa Cruz da Graciosa , located further north, developed better than Praia in the long term and gained more and more importance. Praia has been the seat of the southern of the two districts ( concelho ) of the island since 1546 . However, after the district of Praia was dissolved in 1855 and administratively attached to the district of Santa Cruz, the place lost its importance. In 1867, Praia was stripped of its town charter, but was given again in 2003.

Population development

Population of Praia de São Mateus
year 1864 1878 1890 1900 1911 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1981 1991 2001 2011
Residents 1,849 1,709 1,732 1,588 1,374 1,301 1,448 1,580 1,634 1,547 1,320 1,034 965 901 836

Architecture and urban layout

The oldest part of Praia resembles an elongated street village , in which the one- and at most two-story houses are lined up on the street that runs along the sea and are protected from the floods by a quay wall. Here is u. a. the Citizens' Office Casa do Povo . Just a few meters inland there is a parallel street with up to three-story houses on which the two churches and various public buildings are located. The parish church Igreja de São Mateus , which can be seen from afar and is dedicated to the patron saint of the place, was completed in its current form in 1895 and, with a nave 12 m high and 23 m long, is the largest church building on the entire island, although it has no tower. The church was founded around the middle of the 15th century - possibly the first sacred building on the island - and elevated to parish church in 1546. In the sacristy two statues of St. Matthew and St. Peter, which were made in Flanders in the 16th century . The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição church, built in 1812, is considerably smaller with its massive bell tower, the previous building of which was a pilgrimage chapel from the 16th century.

In the center there is also the Holy Spirit Chapel Imperio de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios , which is the largest of its kind on the entire island with a length of 14.8 m and a width of 6 m. It was built in 1933, but there were several previous buildings built in the 16th and 17th centuries in its place. a. the monastery of Ermida de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios .

Another chapel, the Ermida de Santo António , built towards the end of the 17th century , is located in the center not far from the parish church. Its bell tower was added to the north of the nave as an extension of the facade. Inside there is a reredos with depictions from the life of St. Anthony.

Praia has long been an important base for the whalers. Some of the older houses in the city center therefore have a window or a tower-like structure on the top floor, from which one can see the sea well and spot whales early on. Such a lookout in the attic has z. B. the mansion Casa da Morgada Isabel Maria , the oldest parts of which dates back to the 18th century and was used as a school from 1906.

Center with parish church
Windmills at the port of Praia
Embankment with a beach
Manor house Casa da Morgada Isabel Maria

Surroundings

The chapel Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Saúde , which is visible from afar on a hill west of the village at an altitude of 189 m. ü. d. M., has a footprint of only 10.10 × 6.10 m. Construction began in 1910 and was interrupted and resumed several times, so that the chapel was not completed and inaugurated until 1991.

Praia at a distance of about one kilometer is the approximately 10 hectare large, uninhabited island of Ilhéu da Praia , on which many different sea ​​birds nest. The whole island is a nature reserve. The highest elevation of the sparsely overgrown, rocky island is 52 m. ü. d. M.

particularities

A well-known specialty of the place are the cakes called Queijadas da Graciosa . Praia, whose name means "beach" in German, is also known for its windmills and its fine sandy beach Praia de São Mateus , which is separated from the town center by a high quay wall - it was built to protect against pirate attacks and tsunamis .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b www.ine.pt - indicator resident population by place of residence and sex; Decennial in the database of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  2. ↑ Overview of code assignments from Freguesias on epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
  3. ↑ Susanne Lipps: Azoren , p. 101. Munich 2016
  4. ^ A b c Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 37. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  5. ↑ a b Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 106. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  6. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Recenseamentos Gerais da População) - https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_publicacoes
  7. ↑ Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 103. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  8. ↑ Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 104. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  9. ↑ Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 102. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  10. ↑ Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 105. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  11. ↑ http://www.inventario.iacultura.pt/graciosa/santacruz-fichas/41_48_87.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.inventario.iacultura.pt  
  12. ^ Luis Daniel: Graciosa - Guía do Patrimonio Cultural , p. 110. Lisbon 2004. ISBN 972-96057-4-2
  13. ↑ Mario anger: Azores , 77. Ostfildern 2000
  14. ↑ Stéphan Szeremeta: Açores , p. 184. Paris 2014
  15. ^ Wilhelm Voss-Gerling: Madeira, Azoren , p. 59. Munich 1972

Web links

Commons : São Mateus da Praia  - collection of images, videos and audio files