Baixo Mondego (; ''Lower Mondego'' in English) is a former Portuguese NUTS3 subregion that comprised the lower part of the

Mondego River The Rio Mondego () or Mondego River is the longest river entirely within Portugal, Portuguese territory. It has its source in Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal, mainland Portugal (i.e. excluding the Portuguese ...

. It was abolished at the January 2015 NUTS 3 revision.Adequação dos indicadores à nova organização territorial NUTS III / Entidades Intermunicipais
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, 18 March 2015 It was a subregion of the

Centro Region The Central Region (, ) or Central Portugal is one of the statistical regions of Portugal. The cities with major administrative status inside this region are Coimbra, Aveiro, Viseu, Leiria, Castelo Branco and Guarda. It is one of the seven Regi ...

, centered on the historical city of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

. With an area of 2,062 km² and a population of 336,376 inhabitants (of which half are in the cities of Coimbra and

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

), the Baixo Mondego was a subregion with a mean density of 163/km². The subregion was named after the Mondego River and all this river area has been known as Baixo Mondego (Lower Mondego) since ancient times, even before the creation of the NUTS3.

Economy

Economically, the subregion is dominated by the presence of the city of

, that plays the role of capital and chief city of Portugal's

. Coimbra has a notable

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, major hospitals, wide range of services, important technological-based companies, and diverse cultural attractions. There is also a strong industrial presence around the port city of

that comprises a busy seaport, fishing harbour and summer tourism facilities. Along the shores of the

, there is important agriculture activity. The city of Cantanhede is the heart of an important

wine region Wines are produced in significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes berries mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, typically in regions of Mediterranea ...

and an agriculture centre, and is a modern

bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...

hub through the Biocantpark, a

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

. The subregion is place for important

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

raising activities, and produces sizeable quantities of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s and

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

. Biosciences,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

pulp and paper The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is introd ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

information technologies Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data and information processing, and storage. Information technolo ...

and food, are the main industries.

Municipalities

The subregion comprises eight municipalities (''municípios''): * Cantanhede *

* Condeixa-a-Nova *

Mealhada Mealhada () is a city and a municipality located in Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,428, in an area of 110.66 km2. It had 17,043 eligible voters (2006). The city of Mealhada itself has a population of 4,522.

municipality *

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

Montemor-o-Velho Montemor-o-Velho (), officially the Town of Montemor-o-Velho (), is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 26,171, in an area of 228.96 km². History In 711, the Arab oc ...

Penacova Penacova ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,251, in an area of 216.73 km2. Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 8 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): ...

* Soure The largest cities are Coimbra (106,000), Figueira da Foz (28,000), Cantanhede (9,000) and

(5,000).

References

{{coord, 40, 13, 12, N, 8, 25, 48, W, type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Former NUTS 3 statistical regions of Portugal