About Ponte de Lima

Ponte de Lima is the oldest town in Portugal and belongs to the Viana do Castelo District, North and sub-region of Minho-Lima, with about 2800 habitants. It is characterized by its impressive medieval architecture, stunning green landscapes, being bathed by the Lima River which rises in Spain and flows at the mouth of Viana do Castelo.

It is the seat of a municipality with 320.25 km ² of area and 43 498 inhabitants, divided into 39 parishes. The municipality is bordered to the north by Paredes de Coura municipality, east of Ponte da Barca and Ponte da Barca, southeast of Vila Verde, on the south by Barcelos, west of Viana do Castelo and Caminha and northwest by Vila Nova de cerveira.

Very important locality from the Roman era, owned a Palace of the Kingdom of Lion Court, documented by archaeological finds and other written documents.

Ponte de Lima is also famous for its extensive cuisine including the famous “sarrabulho rice”, for its heritage historical legacy which includes the Roman bridge, the Camões Plaza, the tower of the Old Jail and the Church … its streets are delightful to know and its historic center is a must!

The Ponte de Lima gardens are absolutely fascinating, with an intense green and flowery.

But what else destinge Ponte de Lima and makes it unique are its genuine people and the way of receiving.

 

History of Ponte de Lima

In the heart of the Valley of Lima, the Castiça and peculiar beauty of the oldest town in Portugal hides deep roots and ancestral legends. Was the Queen D. Teresa who, in far-off date of March 4, 1125, granted charter letter to the village, referring to it as Terra Bridge. Years later, already in the fourteenth century, Pedro I, given the geo-strategic position of Ponte de Lima, told Wall it, so the end result was that of a medieval village surrounded by walls and nine towers, of which remaining two, several traces of the remaining and the whole defensive structure then, is making access to the village through six doors.

The bridge, which gave name to this noble land, always acquired an importance of great significance throughout the Alto Minho, serving as the only safe passage of the Lima River, in all its extension, until the end of the Middle Ages. The early was built by the Romans, which remains a significant section on the right bank of the Lima, the medieval being a remarkable architectural landmark, having very few examples that compare him in pride, beauty and balance of the whole. Obligatory reference in scripts, guides and maps, many of them old, describing the passage through it of thousands of pilgrims who demanded to Santiago de Compostela and still today transposing for the same purpose.

From the eighteenth century urban expansion comes and with it the beginning of the destruction of the wall that embraced the village. Begins to thrive throughout the Ponte de Lima municipality, the opulence of the mansions that the nobility of the time undertook to spread. Over time, Ponte de Lima was thus adding to its natural beauty magnificent Gothic facades, Baroque, Neoclassical and nineteenth century, significantly increasing the historical, cultural and architectural value of this unique corner in the whole of Portugal.