Cantanhede () is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

Coimbra District Coimbra District ( pt, Distrito de Coimbra, or ) is located in the Centro Region, Portugal. The district capital is the city of Coimbra. Municipalities The district is composed by 17 municipalities: * Arganil * Cantanhede * Coimbra * Condeix ...

, in the

Centro Region, Portugal The Central Region ( pt, Região do Centro, ) or Central Portugal is one of the statistical regions of Portugal. The cities with major administrative status inside this region are Coimbra, Aveiro, Viseu, Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Castelo Bran ...

. The population in 2011 was 36,595, in an area of 390.88 km².

Location

Cantanhede is located in the

, in the Baixo Mondego subregion of the

Centro Region The Central Region ( pt, Região do Centro, ) or Central Portugal is one of the statistical regions of Portugal. The cities with major administrative status inside this region are Coimbra, Aveiro, Viseu, Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Castelo Branco, ...

, halfway between the cities of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

and Aveiro, in Portugal. This small town is located just 25 km from the very popular beaches of

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

and

Tocha Tocha is a civil parish in the municipality of Cantanhede, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,992, in an area of 78.44 km². References Freguesias of Cantanhede, Portugal {{Coimbra-geo-stub ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast.

History

The name "Cantanhede" comes from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

''cant'', which means "great stone", and refers to the

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

in the region. It was the original ''Cantonieti'', mentioned in the documentation of the centuries 11th, 12th and 13th also with the spellings ''Cantoniedi'', ''Cantonidi'' and ''Cantonetu''. Its first historical references dating back to 1087, date on which Sisnando Davides, governor of Coimbra, provided the village with fortification and promoted its repopulation. With a well-preserved urban area elevated to city (''cidade'') status by the ''Lei n.º 69/91, de 16 de Agosto'' in August 1991, and being home to a number of large and elegant houses, dating back to the 19th century, Cantanhede was granted

foral 200px, Foral of Castro Verde - Portugal The word ''foral'' ({{IPA-pt, fuˈɾaɫ, eu, plural: ''forais'') is a noun derived from the Portuguese word ''foro'', ultimately from Latin ''forum'', equivalent to Spanish ''fuero'', Galician '' foro'', ...

in 1514 by the king

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

.O concelho de Cantanhede
, Freguesia de Covões

Economy

Traditionally a major agriculture center, Cantanhede is at the heart of the

Bairrada DOC Bairrada is a Portuguese wine region located in the Beira Litoral Province. The region has Portugal's highest wine classification as a '' Denominação de Origem Controlada'' (DOC), and its popularity has surged over the last years. It is small ...

which produces famed wines. The town is home to Biocant Park, a biotechnology park. This park is attracting

biosciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

companies to Cantanhede, and has the scientific background of the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

and

Aveiro University The University of Aveiro ( pt, Universidade de Aveiro) is a public university, in addition to providing polytechnic education, located in the Portuguese city of Aveiro. Founded in 1973, it has a student population of approximately 12,500, distr ...

, both associated entities of the project. Cantanhede was growing fast, and the inauguration of the C.C. Rossio (local shopping center) helped to boost the area's economy. EXPOFACIC - Feira Agrícola, Comercial e Industrial de Cantanhede, a

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

and festival, is a major event in the region and is organized every year in July, attracting thousands of visitors to Cantanhede.

Parishes

The municipality is subdivided into the following parishes: * Ançã * Cadima * Cantanhede e Pocariça * Cordinhã * Covões e Camarneira * Febres * Murtede * Ourentã * Portunhos e Outil * São Caetano * Sanguinheira * Sepins e Bolho *

Vilamar e Corticeiro de Cima Vilamar e Corticeiro de Cima is a civil parish in the municipality of Cantanhede, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Vilamar and Corticeiro de Cima. The population in 2011 was 1,501,Pedro Teixeira Pedro Teixeira (b.1570-1585 - d.4 July 1641), occasionally referred to as the Conqueror of the Amazon, was a Portuguese explorer and military officer, who became, in 1637, the first European to travel up and down the entire length of the Amazon ...

(born in Cantanhede, unknown date - died 1640), a Portuguese explorer commissioned by the Portuguese governor of Maranhão, in current-day Brazil, to explore the Amazon in 1637. *

António Luís de Meneses Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

(1596 - 1675 in Cantanhede) third

Count of Cantanhede {{for, the Condal title, Count of Marialva Count of Cantanhede (in Portuguese ''Conde de Cantanhede'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 6 August 1479, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to '' D.'' P ...

and a notable Portuguese general. * João Crisóstomo de Amorim Pessoa (1810 in Cantanhede - 1888) Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde and archbishop of Goa and

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

. * António Fragoso (1897 in Cantanhede - 1918 in Cantanhede), Portuguese composer and pianist. * José de Carvalho Rodrigues Pereira (1929 in Cantanhede - 1984) an eminent lawyer for Petrogal. *

Dina Matos Dina Matos (born November 5, 1966Capuzzo, Jill P ''The New York Times'', November 7, 2004. Accessed December 30, 2007. "The McGreeveys will be moving out of Drumthwacket, the governor's Greek Revival mansion in Princeton, and go their separate way ...

(born 1966 in Cantanhede) former first lady of the American state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. * Luís Filipe (born 1979 in Cantanhede), a footballer with 280 club caps. * Carlitos (born 1981 in Cantanhede) retired footballer with 383 club caps. * Nuno Dias (born 1972 in Cantanhede) futsal coach

References

External links

European People's Festival 2009.07.24 -> 08.01.Cantanhede MunicipalityPhotos from Cantanhede
{{Authority control Municipalities of Coimbra District