Fajã Grande

Main village of Fajã Grande, as seen from a local miradouro, showing the coastline to the area of Canto, and the distant escarpment of Ponta da Fajã (far right)

Coat of arms

Official name: Freguesia de Fajã Grande

Name origin: Portuguese for great debris field

Country

Autonomous Region

Island

Municipality

Localities

Cuada, Ponta (da Fajã), Fajã

Landmark

Church of São José

Rivers

Ribeira das Casas, Ribeira do Ferreiro, Ribeira Grande

Center

Fajã Grande

- elevation

29 m (95 ft)

- coordinates

39°27′13″N 31°15′45″W / 39.45361°N 31.26250°WCoordinates: 39°27′13″N 31°15′45″W / 39.45361°N 31.26250°W

Highest point

Rocha da Fajã

- elevation

927 m (3,041 ft)

- coordinates

39°27′21″N 31°14′7″W / 39.45583°N 31.23528°W

Lowest point

Sea level

- location

Atlantic Ocean

- elevation

0 m (0 ft)

Area

12.97 km² (5 sq mi)

- water

.26 km² (0 sq mi)

- urban

.02 km² (0 sq mi)

Population

202 (2011)

Density

16/km² (41/sq mi)

Settlement

c.1855

- Parish

4 April 1861

- Civil Parish

28 November 1684

LAU

Junta Freguesia

- location

Rua Senador Andre Freitas

- coordinates

39°27′15″N 31°15′40″W / 39.45417°N 31.26111°W

President Junta

Maria Lidia Fraga Rodrigues Oliveira (PSD)

President Assembleia

Ilda Maria Fragueiro Jorge Pimentel (PSD)

Timezone

Azores (UTC-1)

- summer (DST)

Azores (UTC0)

Postal Zone

9960-040

Area Code & Prefix

(+351) 292 XX XX XX

Patron Saint

São José

Location of the civil parish seat of Fajã Grande in the municipality of Lajes das Flores

Website: http://freguesiafajagrande.webs.com/

Geographic detail from CAOP (2010) produced by Instituto Geográfico Português (IGP)

Fajã Grande is a rural civil parish in the municipality of Lajes das Flores in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 202, in an area of 12.97 km². Although it is a relatively small population, it is one of the largest centers in the municipality of Lajes das Flores, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the municipal seat, and the westernmost settlement in Europe.

The western coast of Flores was slowly occupied in the middle of the 16th Century, with the first population centers forming in the beginning of the 17th Century. The first settlers were captained by João Soares, from the island of São Miguel, and who settled in Lajedo. The fertile land permitted the cultivation of woad, one of the most important commercial ventures in the Azores. As the Azorean chronicler Father Gaspar Frutuoso writing in the 16th Century, indicated, that the colonists benefited from the abundance of water and easy access to the sea:

Although being populated for less than a century, Fajã Grande was already a center of commercial activity; caravels arriving from India were likely to stopover in Fajã Grande since it was one of the first ports to be discovered on their return. On the port of Fajã Grande, Father José António Camões, noted the following about its installations:

The fertility of the land permitted the cultivation of the lichen Rocella tinctoria (Roccellaceae), a plant sought after by many of the commercial interests in the region eager to support the dye industries of Europe. The abundance of fresh water, and port, also made Fajã Grande an important stopover for pirates and privateers; while other communities in the archipelago lived in fear of pirates, Fajã Grande maintained a collaborative relationship and sold consumables to local crews.

It was likely one of the most prosperous communities in the western coast, resulting in its de-annexation from the neighbouring parish of Lajes das Flores, in July 1676. To create the new parish of Fajãs, the local community in Ponta da Fajã was de-annexed from the neighbouring parish of São Pedro de Ponta Delgada and integrated into the new administrative and ecclesiastical division. The formal delimitation of the parish was presided by Father Domingos Nunes Pereira, and the new Fajãs parish priest Father André Alves de Mendonça, on 12/13 July 1676.

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Wikipedia