Águas Santas is a Portuguese town and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

located in the

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

of Maia. The population in 2011 was 27,470, in an area of 8.23 km², making it one of the most densely populated towns in the

Porto District The District of Porto ( pt, Distrito do Porto ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro and Viseu districts to the south, B ...

. It is located about 3.5 kilometers north of the city of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, near river Leça.

History

The first references to Águas Santas are found in a document dating from the year 1120, where

Pope Callixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

mentions the monastery of ''Aquis Sanctis''.Coelho, M.J.P., "A Igreja de Águas Santas - Contribuição para o Estudo da História e Cronologia da sua Construção"
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References

Towns in Portugal Freguesias of Maia, Portugal {{Porto-geo-stub

History

See also

References