Sao Pedro (Figueira da Foz)

Sao Pedro
coat of arms map
Basic data
Region :	Centro
Sub-region :	Region of Coimbra
District :	Coimbra
Concelho :	Figueira da Foz
Coordinates :	40 ° 8 ′  N , 8 ° 51 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 8 ′  N , 8 ° 51 ′  W
Residents:	2910 (as of June 30, 2011)
Surface:	7.01 km² (as of January 1, 2010)
Population density :	415 inhabitants per km²
Postal code :	3090-711
politics
Mayor :	Carlos Manuel Azevedo Simão
Address of the municipal administration:	Junta de Freguesia de São Pedro Rua de São Pedro, nº 56 3090-711 Figueira da Foz
Website:	www.spcovagala.com

São Pedro is a municipality ( freguesia ) in Portugal and belongs to the district ( concelho ) of Figueira da Foz .

geography

The area of ​​the municipality of São Pedro, located south of the Mondego , is usually referred to as Cova Gala , after its two main towns that have grown together. It belongs to the urban area of ​​the Figueira district, together with São Julião , Buarcos and Tavarede . Only accessible via Ponte Edgar Cardoso from the town of Figueira on the north bank of the river, some of the district's well-known beaches, some industrial units and social institutions, and the district hospital are located here.

The municipality is essentially characterized by the marshland of the Mondego estuary and its tributaries. There are areas with strong development (residential areas, roads and industrial areas), plus beaches and dune areas.

history

Since the middle of the 18th century, an increasing number of fishermen from Ílhavo have settled in Cova in search of high-yield fishing grounds. The first baptism in Cova took place on July 15, 1793. On the occasion of this baptism of the first son of a newly settled fisher couple from Ílhavo, in the Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Lavos , the permanent town of Cova, which was established a few years earlier, was documented. Some fishermen from Ílhavo had built shelters for permanent settlement made of wood and on stilts to withstand the moving dunes .

The British General Wellesley (later General Wellington), who landed in the Mondego estuary at the beginning of August 1808 , under whose leadership the Portuguese-British units repulsed General Junot's Napoleonic invasion troops , received active help from the fishermen who settled there. The first chapel was built in the same year.

In 1837 Cova already had around 200 residential units with an estimated 700 inhabitants. A little later, the village of Gala came into being when fishermen from Cova moved further inland to fish from the more protected estuary, and to do more profitable river fishing there. The place Gala continued to grow, promoted by the construction of a wooden and an iron bridge over the Mondego, the latter built by the office of the engineer Gustave Eiffel . The construction of the royal thoroughfare, Estrada Real no.58 in 1905, and the establishment of the Estaleiros Navais na Murraceira shipyard also provided further growth impulses. Carpenters, tailors, joiners and numerous other craftsmen came particularly from the north of Portugal as a result of the shipyard settlement. The growing importance of the port of Figueira for the Portuguese stockfish fleets has also ensured a growing influx of people since the 19th century.

In the 1960s the place experienced a wave of emigration, especially to the area of ​​the US American New Bedford , which contributed to the development of the important fishing port there, and which was the origin of the current twinning between New Bedford and Figueira da Foz. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974 and the far-reaching social upheavals in Portugal, emigration stopped and new employment opportunities arose locally, for example after the construction of the district hospital or the increase in tourism. The rivalry between Cova and Gala that had developed in the meantime also subsided over the years, which had found expression , for example, in the competition between the respective folk dance groups ( Rancho Folclórico ), but in particular, sometimes palpably, between the football teams.

Since the area has always belonged to the municipality of Lavos, it has been an independent municipality since 1985. In 2009, Cova-Gala was promoted to Vila (small town).

The beach of Cova

Culture, sports and sights

The municipality of São Pedro has three sports fields with synthetic turf and four with concrete floors, plus a skate park and special children's playgrounds on the beach and river banks. On the beach of Praia da Cova, as well as on the river, the municipality has two open-air theaters .

The sports club Desportivo Clube Marítimo da Gala (German: Maritime Sports Club of Gala), founded on May 3, 1938 , today offers gymnastics activities in addition to its folk dance group, the Rancho Folclórico Beira Mar Cova Gala . The Clube Mocidade Covense was founded on April 9, 1939 and is now mainly dedicated to the elderly, with cultural and game events, but also runs a children's club with the Rancho Infantil de São Pedro Folk dance group that has performed nationally and internationally. A youth dance group is also part of the offer.

The sports club Grupo Desportivo Cova-Gala , founded on October 5, 1977, operates various football teams, male and female, and in different age groups.

The regionally known beaches of the municipality are regularly venues for surfing sports , also in an international context, especially in Cabedelo.

The district hospital, planned from 1956 and built from 1960, is located here and is registered as a listed building.

administration

São Pedro is a municipality ( freguesia ) in the district ( concelho ) of Figueira da Foz , in the district of Coimbra . On June 30, 2011 the community had 2910 inhabitants on an area of ​​7 km². The following places are in the municipality of São Pedro:

• Cova
• Gala
• Cabedelo
• Morraceiro

traffic

The national road 109 runs through the municipality, as does the A17 motorway , the municipality being between the Marinha das Ondas and Maiorca exits .

Since the decision of the CP in 2012 to use the Linha do Oeste only for freight traffic in the future, there is no longer any rail link beyond the Figueira train station via neighboring communities .

economy

In the beginning fishing was the main occupation of the local population, today industrial companies (shipyard, textile industry, food industry), the district hospital and other employment opportunities in the city of Figueira are the most important economic factors. Tourism has grown in importance since the 1980s, while industry has been reducing its number of employees since the 1990s.

Web links

Commons : São Pedro  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Community website

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. ↑ Community website ( Memento of the original from September 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. under item "A Freguesia", sub-item "Apresentação", accessed on September 25, 2012 
4. ↑ Isabel Henriques: Figueira da Foz - Rotas do Concelho. Câmara Municipal, Figueira da Foz 2005, pp. 45ff
5. ↑ Article from June 12, 2009 ( Memento of the original from August 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Público newspaper , accessed on September 12, 2012 
6. ↑ Cabedelo1. Retrieved August 4, 2019 . 
7. ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on September 12, 2012