Matriz is a ''

freguesia ''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as " parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former ...

'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of

Horta Horta may refer to: People * Horta (surname), a list of people Places * Horta, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric in Africa Proconsularis, now in Tunisia and a Latin Catholic titular see * Horta, Azores, Portugal, a municipality ...

, in the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, which is part of the urbanized core of the city of Horta. The population in 2011 was 2,562, in an area of 1.81 km².Eurostat
It is the smallest and most populous parish on the island. It contains the localities Matriz and Dutras.

History

It was the second Captain-major of Faial, Joss d'Utra, son of the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

pioneer

Josse van Huerter Joost De Hurtere (1430 in Torhout – 1495 in Horta), also known by several transliterations (such as ''Josse van Huerter, Josse van Hurtere'', ''Josse De Hurtere'' or ''Joss van Hürter'', and later in Portuguese, ''Joss de Utra'' or just ''Du ...

, that originally settled and developed the area of Matriz. The religious parish, Matriz do Santissimo Salvador, was created from successive growth of the village of Horta in 1498, by the royal decree of King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was list of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Duke of Viseu, Viseu prior to su ...

. The primitive Church Matriz de São Salvador was completed and inaugurated on June 28, 1514; it complements the

church of the same name in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...

and the Sé of

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Bis ...

. It was successively sacked in 1589, then 1597, by English

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. In 1643,

Diogo das Chagas Diogo das Chagas, O.F.M. (Diogo of the Holy Wounds); (c. 1584 in Santa Cruz das Flores – c. 1661 in Angra do Heroísmo) was a Portuguese Franciscan friar and historian. He is best known as the author of ''Espelho Cristalino em Jardim de V ...

identified that the area of the Matriz had about 1,985 inhabitants in 449 homes. It was also a centre of the faith community during the period of exploration; the home to several churches and religious sanctuaries, that include: the Jesuit Church and Convent, the Church of Misericórdia (Mercy), the Convent of São João, the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Glória, the Convento de Santo António, the Império dos Nobres (in homage to the 1672 volcanic eruption) and the old Clock Tower (former tower of another destroyed church).

Geography

Matriz is buttressed between its urban neighbors Angústias (along its southern border), Conceição (along its northern), and the landlocked parish of Flamengos (towards the west)): it fronts Horta Bay, and the island of Pico towards the east. Generally, the parish is a gently sloping tract of land that slopes towards the interior (Flamengos), that is highly urbanized and which constitutes the core the city of Horta. Most commercial, administrative and residential uses are concentrated in this parish, including the Regional Assembly, many of the historical churches (including Igreja Matriz do SS.º Salvador da Horta), convents and social services, antique farmers market, post office, archive and other public buildings. Landmarks includes the Horta Museum, Sociedade Recreativa Amor da Pátria, Império dos Nobres (Empire of Nobles), Horta's clock tower, the former Walter Bensaúde Hospital (future expansion of the Department of Oceanography and Ichthyology of the

University of the Azores The University of the Azores (Portuguese: ''Universidade dos Açores''), or commonly abbreviated as ''UAc'', is the only public university in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. It was founded on January 9, 1976, two years after the Carnation Rev ...

, a panoramic view at Monte Carneiro and the Horta Archive and the Public Library (the old Bensaúde House, Port.: ''Casa Bensaúde'').

Architecture

Civic

* CTT Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones ( pt, Edifício dos Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones, CTT, da Horta) * Faialense Theatre ( pt, Teatro Faielense) *

Legislative Assembly of the Azores The Legislative Assembly of the Azores ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa dos Açores) is the regional assembly/legislature of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. History The regional legislative assembly, since it was first instituted, ha ...

( pt, Edifício Sede da Assembleia Legislativa Regional dos Açores) * Society of Amor da Pátria ( pt, Edifício da Rua Dom Pedro IV/Sociedade Amor da Pátria)

Religious

* Convent of the Third Order of Monte Carmel ( pt, Convent of Carmo) * Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo ( pt, Convento de Nossa Senhora do Carmo) * Convent of São Francsico ( pt, Convento de São Francisco/Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) * Jesuit College of São Francisco Xavier/Church of Horta pt, Colégio de São Francisco Xavier/Igreja Paroquial da Horta)

References

;Notes ;Sources * {{authority control Parishes of Horta, Azores