Matosinhos

Sister cities

• Mérignac

History

The oldest traces of human settlement in this territory extend back thousands of years and include instruments and Paleolithic artifacts found in beaches such as Boa Nova and Almeiriga. The land's settlement began around 5000 years ago, during the Neolithic, as evidenced from various funeral monuments and dolmens in Lavra, , , , and São Gens. At the end of the Bronze Age, settlements expanded into castros, proto-urban agglomerations at high altitudes. These existed in the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula and predominated until the 1st century. Remnants of castros remain throughout the municipality, the most notable being Castro of Monte Castelo in Guifões, by the estuary of the Leça river. Between the 5th and 7th centuries, the area became a part of the Kingdom of the Suebi and later the Visigothic Kingdom. During this period, Castro of Monte Castelo was abandoned, while the previous Roman settlement in Angeiras remained populated and included a monastery, as referred in the administrative document . In the 10th century, the Monastery of Bouças was founded in Bouças de Baixo, in the northeast of what is now the city of Matosinhos. A settlement gradually formed around the monastery, leading to the creation of the administrative centre of the Julgado de Bouças in the 13th century.Also during the 10th century, the was established near Ponte da Pedra. In the 12th century, likely between 1112 and 1128, Countess Theresa of Portugal donated the monastery to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, marking their first foothold in the country. In 1140, King Afonso I granted the order jurisdiction over the parishes of Leça, Custóias, Barreiros, Gueifães and S. Mamede. The order also owned other properties in the region, including the monasteries of Lavra, Moreira…

Geography

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 10 civil parishes (freguesias): * Custóias * * Lavra * Leça da Palmeira * * Matosinhos * * * São Mamede de Infesta * Senhora da Hora