Ericeira

Ericeira
Parish
The coastal view of the skyline of Ericeira
Ericeira
Coordinates: 38°57′43″N 9°25′05″W / 38.962°N 9.418°W / 38.962; -9.418Coordinates: 38°57′43″N 9°25′05″W / 38.962°N 9.418°W / 38.962; -9.418
Country	Portugal
Region	Lisbon
Subregion	Grande Lisboa
Metropolitan area	Lisbon
District	Lisbon
Municipality	Mafra
Area
• Total	12.05 km2 (4.65 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	10,260
• Density	850/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Postal code	2655
Area code	261
Website	http://www.ericeira.org

Ericeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [eɾiˈsɐjɾɐ]) is a civil parish and seaside resort/fishing community on the western coast of Portugal, in the municipality of Mafra, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of the capital, Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 10,260, in an area of 12.05 km². Ericeira is regarded by some as being Europe's Surf Mecca, due to the exceptional coastline conditions for the practice of Surf. It is home for Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve, the first in Europe and the second in the world.

Ericeira was a popular summer retreat for many of Lisbon's families in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, it is a popular destination for local and visiting tourists, as well as surfers from around the world (owing to the forty beaches with good conditions in the area).

The region's taxonomic name has a convoluted history. Ericeira is believed to have originated from Ouriceira, itself a derivative of Ouriço, referring to the name for sea urchins (used in the parish's coat-of-arms). One legend suggested that Ericeira was the terra de ouriços (land of ouriços), owing to what was assumed to be an abundance of sea-urchins along the beaches. However, recent investigations, archived in the Museum of the Misericórdia, confirm that the animal mentioned was not an "ouriço", but an "ouriço-caixeiro" (hedgehog), a species associated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte. The ancient settlement presumably dates from the passage and colonization of the Phoenicians.

The region's first foral (charter) dates to 1229, when it was issued by friar D. Fernão Rodrigues Monteiro, Master of the Cavalry and the Military Order of São Bento de Avis, which was later reformed by King Manuel, in 1513.

Ericeira was an area much frequented for its climatic and seaside comforts. In fact, Charles Lepierre, a chemical engineer referred to Ericeira's beaches as "a focus of the major concentration of iodine in all of the northern Portuguese coast". In 1803, the Bishop of Coimbra took regular baths in Ericeira, and the Royal Family including Queen Maria Pia of Savoy in 1864 also frequented its waters.