To Visit Portugal: Visit São João da Madeira

Monday, May 7, 2018

Visit São João da Madeira

São João da Madeira is a Portuguese city of the District of Aveiro and of the Metropolitan Area of Porto, with 21 713 inhabitants in its urban perimeter (2011). It is home to the smallest Portuguese municipality in an area, with a single parish and only 7.94 km², corresponding to the area of the city, which gives it a high population density: 2 734.63 hab / km², but considered by many the parish most complete of Portugal. The municipality is limited to the north and west by the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, and to the east and south by Oliveira de Azeméis. Its strong development in the second half of the twentieth century led to the expansion of its urban area beyond the confines of its small county. It became an autonomous municipality of neighboring Oliveira de Azeméis on October 11, 1926, and was elevated to city status on June 28, 1984, by law no. 13/84. The motto of São João da Madeira is "Labor - Cidade do Trabalho". The city is known in Portugal for its tradition in the industrial area, particularly in relation to the manufacture of hats and footwear, recognized in the country as the "Footwear Capital".

Small Historical Review

The origins of São João da Madeira go back to a period prior to the formation of nationality, as evidenced by two letters of sale, in parchment, dating from 1088, where it is referred to the "hoe of Sancto Ioanne that dicent Mateira". The toponym "Madeira" seems to have to do, historians say, with the region's abundance of trees. These two manuscripts can be found in the archive of the city, located in the Paços da Cultura. In 1908, the inauguration of the Vouga railway line in São João da Madeira by King Manuel II of Portugal contributed to further boost the wave of entrepreneurship. São João da Madeira acquired the status of village (1922) and its administrative autonomy (1926), by dismemberment of the municipality of Oliveira de Azeméis. In Decree No. 12,456, the Government considered São João da Madeira as the "most important industrial center in the district of Aveiro", whose economic and social development was being "hampered, suffocated by its inferior administrative category". The administrative independence was the result of a slow local historical stratification, having played a relevant role in this context the local press (The Regional), born of "a group of young men with blood in their veins and anxious for the constant progress of St. John of Madeira ", a group of Sanjoanese notables who constituted the" Patriotic Sanjoanense Group ", led by the Jesuit priest and Portuguese historian Serafim Leite. With its administrative autonomy, in the middle of the Second World War, the felt industry went up in Portugal. In the 1940s, the production of hair and felts was centered in S. João da Madeira, with the creation, in 1943, of National Hair Cutting, the only fur factory in the country, nationalized in 1945. In 1946, of the 1775 workers in the headwear industry in Portugal, 1212 worked in São João da Madeira. The headwear industry was an important branch of industrial activity in Portugal, and São João da Madeira was its headquarters.

Geography

São João da Madeira sits on the massive back of an airy hill, between 50 and 300 meters high. The city is crossed in its greater axis, north-south, by the river Ul. The climate of S. João of Madeira is maritime. In winter rainfall rates are high and summers are short and dry. Its economy relies heavily on services and industry.

economy

In terms of employment, 62% of city workers work in the secondary sector and 38% in the tertiary sector. In 2007, São João da Madeira had 3660 companies. Micro and small and medium-sized enterprises dominate the employment landscape in S. João da Madeira, with almost 74% of workers. The city has a strong tradition in the industrial area, namely in the area of footwear. It owns the "Capital do Calçado" brand (designation registered at the National Trademark Registration Institute), containing numerous footwear and footwear components factories, as well as the Footwear Technological Center (CTC) and the Center for Professional Training of Industry Footwear (CFPIC). The city is still the largest national hat producer, and the third largest in the world.

In São João da Madeira the following parties are held:

Feast of St. John of the Bridge, 23 and 24 June. It is the biggest festival of the city, in honor of its patron saint. For a week the Avenida da Liberdade closes at night in traffic and culminates with the usual fireworks.

Feast of Our Lady of Miracles, in the week of the last Sunday of May, in the park of the same name.

The city in the Garden, a festival of increasing popularity that has been taking place since 2003, in the Municipal Garden, participating all the institutions and collectivities of the city.

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