Beiriz is a suburban area in

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim () is a Portugal, Portuguese city in Norte Region, Portugal, Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho River, Minho ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It is an ancient ecclesiastical parish and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 3,229 inhabitants and a total area of 4.31 km². A 2012 law merged the parish with neighbouring Póvoa de Varzim (parish) and Argivai, becoming the southern parish of the city of Póvoa de Varzim, known as União das Freguesias da Póvoa de Varzim, Beiriz e Argivai. Beiriz is known for its ''Tapetes de Beiriz'' (Beiriz carpets).

History

Beiriz has origins in a medieval rural place known as ''Villa Viarizi'' as it is known by a document from 1044. The parish is very old, and it is known to exist from at least from this century onwards. It was a (religious) parish in Barcelos until 1836 when it became a civil unit and was transferred to

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km2. The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of ...

. Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde made parish transfers in 1853, and Beiriz was made part of Póvoa de Varzim since then.

Geography

Beiriz is located 4 km from downtown Póvoa de Varzim. Due to its unusual borders and border dispute with parishes in its vicinity: Póvoa de Varzim (Parish), Amorim and Aver-o-Mar, part of the parish is located in the city core, while most of it is in the suburban area of the city.

Hamlets

The hamlets of the parish are Penouces, Arroteia, Giesteira, Paredes, Calves, Mau Verde, Silvas, Penela, Xisto, Beiriz de Baixo, Outeiro, Igreja, Fraião, Pedreira, Cutéres, Quintã, and Fonte Nova.

City districts

Part of the parish (Penouces, Arroteia, Giesteira, and part of Paredes) is included in

Giesteira Giesteira or Bairro de Belém is a neighbourhood of the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim. It is one of the six traditional neighbourhoods of the city, and one of the eleven city districts. Giesteira is located northeast of the Póvoa de Varzim ...

district of the city. {{Póvoa de Varzim Former civil parishes of Póvoa de Varzim