Viseu Municipal coat of arms
Location  - Region  - Subregion  - District or A.R.	{{{Region}}} {{{Subregion}}} Viseu
Mayor  - Party	Fernando Ruas PSD
Area	507.1 km²
Population  - Total  - Density	96,810 191/km²
No. of parishes	34
Coordinates	40º40'N 7º55'W
Municipal holiday	September 21
Website: http://www.cm-viseu.pt/

Viseu (pron. IPA [vi'zeu]) is both a city (capital of the District of Viseu) and a municipality in central Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 96,810. (census 2001). Viseu is also one of the Grandes Áreas Metropolitanas - Greater Metropolitan Areas of Portugal with 354,162 habitants. Image File history File links VIS.png Crest of Viseu municipality (Portugal) Author: Sérgio Horta The author has agreed to usage of his works under the GNU-FDL, as long as he is quoted as the source: Caro Senhor, Manuel Anastácio File links The following pages link to... Image File history File links LocalViseu. ... The District of Viseu is located in the Central Inland of Portugal, the District Capital is the city of Viseu. ... Political parties in Portugal lists political parties in Portugal. ... The Social Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Social Democrata, pron. ... A freguesia (pron. ... Location  - Region  - Subregion  - District or A.R.   {{{Region}}} {{{Subregion}}} Viseu Mayor  - Party Fernando Ruas PSD Area 507. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... Pronunciation refers to: the way a word or a language is usually spoken; the manner in which someone utters a word. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ... A cidade is a city in Portugal. ... The District of Viseu is located in the Central Inland of Portugal, the District Capital is the city of Viseu. ... // The 18 districts and 2 autonomous regions of Portugal subdivided into their municipalities Portugal is divided into 18 districts (Portuguese: distritos) and 2 autonomous regions (Portuguese: regiões autónomas), Azores and Madeira, that are further sub-divided into 308 municipalities (Portuguese: municípios or concelhos). ... The greater metropolitan areas (Grande Área Metroplitana, in Portuguese) are a territorial unity and continuity that gatters municipalities. ...

This important hub in the center of the country is crossed by an important European road link, the A25 (former IP5) that connects it to the seaport of Aveiro and Guarda and then on to Salamanca in Spain. The IP3, connecting Coimbra with Chaves on the Spanish border, crosses Viseu from south to north. Until the nineteen eighties Viseu had railway connections with the coast, but these were closed. Now the city is one of the largest cities in Europe with no railway connections. Coat of Arms Aveiro streets by night Sé Catedral de Aveiro Aveiro and one of its canals. ... Guarda is both a city and a district in north-east Portugal. ... Salamanca: Plaza Mayor Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salamanca Salamanca (population 157,906 (2003)) is a castilian city in central Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. ... District Coimbra Mayor   - Party Carlos Encarnação PSD Area 316. ... The Roman Bridge Coat of Arms Chaves, Portugal, is the second most populous city in the district of Vila Real, after the district capital of the same name. ...

History and Tourism

The city name goes back to the end of the Roman Empire and the early Middle Ages where its name is derived from the Roman term "viso", which means a good view. This was in accordance with where the original settlement was formed in Roman times, and was highest point.

After the Romans, in 693 AD it was captured by the Moors who held it for almost a century. Viseu is have a statue of Viriathus, the Lusitanians leader who fought the Romans for the freedom of the area called Lusitania.Viriathus was born in Loriga,Serra da Estrela,also in the Beira Alta. The cathedral dates from 830 AD. Viriathus (known as Viriato in Portuguese and Castilian) (180 BC - 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian tribe that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of Western Iberia, where the Roman province of Lusitania would be established (in the areas comprising Portugal, south of the Douro river... The Lusitanians (or Lusitani in Latin) were a tribe, or various tribes, from the western Iberian peninsula (province of Lusitania), who spoke a Lusitanian language until the conquest of their territory by the Romans. ... Roman province of Lusitania, 120 AD Lusitania, an ancient Roman province approximately including current Portugal (except for the area between the rivers Douro and Minho) and part of modern day western Spain (specifically the present autonomous community Extremadura), named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people. ...

Viseu was the birthplace of one of the greatest Portuguese painters of the sixteenth century: Grão Vasco (1475-1540), who today lends his name to a museum, a hotel, and even a brand of wine. The museum, installed in the old episcopal palace, shows some of his masterpieces and paintings of other painters of the period known as the school of Viseu.

The city is rich in churches, convents and chapels. In addition to the cathedral there are six major churches, four chapels, two convents, and the bishop´s palace. There is also a sacred art museum in the cathedral.

Geography

The city of Viseu has an almost central position in relation to the District lying on the so-called Viseu Plateau (port. Planalto de Viseu). It is surrounded by a mountainous system constituted to the north by the Leonil, Montemuro and Lapa hills, to the northeast by the Arado hills, to the south and southeast by the Serra da Estrela and the Lousã hills and to the west by the Caramulo hills.

The Municipality is characterized by an irregular surface with altitudes ranging between 400 and 700 metres. With a rough terrain, it has numerous water courses. These are found in three basins: the Vouga, the Dão and the Paiva.

Situated in a zone of transition, the concelho has several micro-climates. The Serra do Caramulo, located to the west of the city, plays an important role in climatic terms by lessening the influences of the western air masses (although the River Mondego's basin makes the penetration easier). Consequently, Viseu's climate is characterized by the existence of high temperature extremes, with rigorous and wet winters and hot and dry summers.

Demograpics

Due to important emigration in the decade of 1960, Viseu suffered a great decrease in its population. Together with the return of the people forced to leave the Portuguese ex-colonies, and natural economical development starting at the end of the decade of 1970, the municipality had increased its population by about 10 percent, giving it an estimated population of 83,261 people. After this date a certain stagnation set in confirmed by the census of 1991 which showed a population of 83,601. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... This article refers to a colony in politics and history. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Economy

The city is famous for its wine (called Dão) and annual agricultural fair. Local handicrafts include black pottery, bobbin lace, embroidery, and copper and wroughtiron articles. With the good connections to major industrial centers several industries have been installed in the city. Viseu, together with Leiria, is one of the fastest growing economic centers in the country.

Education

Viseu is the location of the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu. It has polytechnic schools of education, technology, and agronomy. The city has been pressuring the national government to upgrade this school into a university, but its desire was never achieved. There are also private institutions, such as branches of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, and the Instituto Piaget. The term polytechnic, from the Greek πολύ polú meaning many and τεχνικός tekhnikós meaning arts, is commonly used in many countries to describe an institution that delivers vocational or technical education and training, other countries do not use the term and use alternative terminology. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... The Portuguese Catholic University (UCP - Universidade Católica Portuguesa) is a private university of the Catholic Church, in Portugal. ...

Parishes

• Abraveses
• Barreiros
• Boa Aldeia
• Bodiosa
• Calde
• Campo
• Cavernães
• Cepões
• Coração de Jesus
• Cota
• Couto de Baixo
• Couto de Cima
• Fail
• Farminhão
• Fragosela
• Lordosa
• Mundão
• Orgens
• Povolide
• Ranhados
• Repeses
• Ribafeita
• Rio de Loba
• Santa Maria de Viseu
• Santos Evos
• São Cipriano
• São João de Lourosa
• São José
• São Pedro de France
• São Salvador
• Silgueiros
• Torredeita
• Vil de Souto
• Vila Chã de Sá

See also

• Centro, Portugal

Centro Region (Região Centro, pron. ...

External links

• Viseu City Government
• Instituto Superior Politécnico de Viseu
• Photos of Viseu
• Portal de Viseu
• Notícias de Viseu a local newspaper (in Portuguese)

• Photos from Viseu

Municipalities of the District of Viseu
Armamar | Carregal do Sal | Castro Daire | Cinfães | Lamego | Mangualde | Moimenta da Beira | Mortágua | Nelas | Oliveira de Frades | Penalva do Castelo | Penedono Resende | Santa Comba Dão | São João da Pesqueira | São Pedro do Sul | Sátão | Sernancelhe | Tabuaço | Tarouca | Tondela | Vila Nova de Paiva | Viseu | Vouzela