Arcos (Vila do Conde)
| Arcos | |
| Civil Parish (Freguesia) | |
| Official name: Freguesia de Arcos | |
| Name origin: arcos Portuguese word for arches | |
| Country |  Portugal |
|---|---|
| Region | Norte |
| Subregion | Grande Porto |
| District | Porto |
| Municipality | Vila do Conde |
| Localities | Arcos, |
| Center | Arcos |
| - elevation | 51 m (167 ft) |
| - coordinates | 41°23′51″N 8°39′21″W / 41.3975°N 8.65583°W |
| Lowest point | |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 3.06 km (2 mi), Northwest-Southeast |
| Width | 3.07 km (2 mi), Southwest-Northeast |
| Area | 5.81 km² (2 sq mi) |
| Population | 869 (2001) |
| Density | 149.57 / km² (387 / sq mi) |
| LAU | Freguesia/Junta Freguesia |
| - location | Rua da Ponte, Arcos, Vila do Conde |
| - elevation | 50 m (164 ft) |
| - coordinates | 41°23′49″N 8°39′45″W / 41.39694°N 8.6625°W |
| President Junta | José Rui Carvalho de Oliveira Barbosa (Independent) |
| President Assembleia | Maria Delfina Sá dos Santos |
| Timezone | WET (UTC0) |
| - summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) |
| ISO 3166-2 code | PT- |
| Postal Zone | 4480-020 Arcos |
| Area Code & Prefix | (+351) 252 XXX XXX |
| Demonym | Vila-condense; Vilacondense |
| Patron Saint | São Miguel |
| Parish Address | Rua da Ponte, 29 4480-020 Arcos |
 Location of the parish seat of Arcos in the municipality of Vila do Conde | |
| Wikimedia Commons: Arcos | |
| Website: http://www.freguesiadearcos.pt/ | |
| Statistics from INE (2001); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010) | |
Arcos, which is a civil parish in the municipality of Vila do Conde, but near the north-eastern frontier with the municipality of Barcelos, it lives in the shadow of its larger municipal neighbour. In 2001, its population was 826 inhabitants in an area of 5.81 km² that crosses the Ave River.
History
Tradition suggests that in the parish toponymy developed from the location of a Moorish castle, on a mountain with the same in Casais, the siting of a Roman bridge near Monte da Reguenga or the an subterranean road that lead to the Este River, where horses were sent for watering. It is likely that a medieval castle existed in Argifonso, since structures and a castro was discovered in the vicinity, but Moorish influences in the Iberian peninsula only occurred at the end of 711. During Roman occupation, any settlements would have occupied the cultivatable fields, causing the desertion of the castros: the Castro of Casais still presents vestiges of the castro culture and Roman artefacts. Other legends, refer to an ecclesiastical parish dedicated to Sant'Iago in Moldes, although no documented proof exists.
Its ex-libris the Roman-style bridge, actually dates back to the 12th century; in 1140, the bridge already existed, but historians point to a ancient bridge that crossed the Ave River. Medieval documents referred to it as the via vecteris (English: old road), alluding to its Roman history.
Since 1836, Arcos existed as a integral part of Vila do Conde.
During the 9th century (1078–1091) there is a reference to São Miguel de Arcos, in the ecclesiastical census in Braga and Guimarães. Yet, records from census administered by bishop D. Pedro, in the Sé Cathedral in Braga, nor the 1220 inventory of Afonso II of Portugal never refer to Arcos as an ecclesiastical parish, nor the basis of its existence.
Geography
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Situated north of the Ave River, alongside the Este River, it is sheltered by the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, in the north-eastern parish of Vila do Conde. Yet, owing to its distance from the municipal seat, Póvoa de Varzim and Vila Nova de Famalicão, it lives in the shadow of the much larger urban community of Barcelos.
The Roman-style Ponte d'Ave (later Ponte de São Miguel) that crosses the Ave River, travels north in the direction of Rates, and eventually to Santiago de Compostela.
Architecture
Notable citizens
References
- Notes
- Sources
- Pinho, Manuel Fernando Soares (December 2005). "Nos 150 anos da Igreja Paroquial de S. Miguel de Arcos – Vila do Conde [In the 150 Years of the Parochial Church of São Miguel of Arcos: Vila do Conde]" (in Portuguese). Arcos, Portugal: Fábrica da Igreja Paroquial de S. Miguel de Arcos.
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcos_(Vila_do_Conde)
