Maia, Portugal

Maia

Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 41°14′N 8°37′W / 41.233°N 8.617°WCoordinates: 41°14′N 8°37′W / 41.233°N 8.617°W

Country

Portugal

Government

• President

António Bragança Fernandes (PSD)

Area

• Total

82.99 km² (32.04 sq mi)

Population (2011)

• Total

135,306

• Density

1,600/km² (4,200/sq mi)

Time zone

WET/WEST (UTC+0/+1)

Website

http://www.cm-maia.pt

Maia (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmajɐ]) is a municipality in the Porto Metropolitan Area, Grande Porto subregion, in Norte Region, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 135,306, in an area of 82.99 km². There are one city (Cidade da Maia) and 3 towns (Moreira, Castêlo da Maia and Águas Santas) in the municipality.

The area of the current municipality (concelho) is inhabited since millennia ago. The human occupation dates from the Paleolithic. In many hills of the region, there were found remains of villages from the Iron Age. Attracted by rich soil and abundance of resources, the Romans also left out visible marks of their occupation. In the middle of the thirteenth century, the Lands of Maia (Terras da Maia) extended from the city of Porto until the Ave river and from the sea to the mountains. In 1304, however, the Lands of Maia were incorporated into those of Porto, losing its political and administrative autonomy. In 1360, King Pedro I of Portugal gave the landlord of Azurara (in current Vila do Conde), with Lands of Maia, to the infant D. Dinis, his son. The history of this municipality is also closely linked to the founding of the Portuguese nation. Some authors argue that even the Prince Afonso Henriques has been educated here, next to the family of Mendes da Maia, who belonged to the Arcebishop of Braga D. Paio Mendes and the famous warrior Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, the "Lidador" (today the hero of the city), so named for having entered into fearless struggle against the Saracens. In the Age of Discovery, the region of Maia produced candles and fabrics for use in the Portuguese caravels. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the King Manuel I of Portugal granted the charter, which provided the rent to be paid to the donee Reguengos of Maia, and regulated how to carry out punishments and courts. Between the years of 1700 and 1836, the county was composed of 44 parishes and encompassed the entire range between the sea and the Leça and Ave rivers. With administrative reforms initiated in 1836, Maia became a separate municipality, but reduced both in area and number of parishes. In 1857, the municipality of Maia was even extinct. It was necessary to wait until 1868 to see it restored. Maia municipality was crossed in 1809 by the Napoleonic army of the Duke of Dalmatia, the Marshal Soult, which was going from Braga to Porto. Between 1832 and 1834, in the turbulent years of struggles and civil war opposing Miguel of Portugal to Pedro IV of Portugal, it was the scene of bloody battles between the absolutist and the liberal factions.

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