Valongo () is a Portuguese city and municipality located in the District of Porto and from Porto, in the northern region of Portugal.
The municipality area consists of and 94,672 inhabitants in 2021, and it is subdivided into four parishes: Alfena, Campo e Sobrado, Ermesinde and Valongo. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipality of Santo Tirso, to the northeast by Paços de Ferreira, to the east by Paredes, to the southwest by Gondomar and to the west by Maia.
In 2022, Valongo was awarded the European Green Leaf title by the European Commission for its environmental efforts, including forest conservation, climate adaptation, and circular economy initiatives.
History
The Municipality of Valongo was created in 1836 as a part of the administrative reform of the country, which occurred during the reign of D. Maria II. However, human occupation of this region predates the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Ancient history
This region was occupied by the Romans, especially for gold mining in the Serra de Santa Justa. One of the traces of Roman occupation is in the municipality name, which originated in the Latin words Vallis Longus. There are still traces that would allow the detection of two main Roman connecting roads that would cross the municipality: the Porto - Guimarães road and the Alfena - Valongo - Aguiar de Sousa / Penafiel road.
After the reconquest of Portus Cale (Porto) by Vímara Peres in 868, he was named a count and given control of the frontier region between the Lima and Douro rivers by Alfonso III of Asturias, therefore bringing the region under control of the Kingdom of Asturias.
Middle ages
From the General Inquiries of 1258, the current municipality was divided at the time between the jurisdiction (julgado) of Aguiar de Sousa - which included S. Martinho de Campo and Sobrado, and the jurisdiction of Maia, which included S. Vicente da Queimadela, Valongo and S. Lourenço de Asmes.
Between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century, large farming houses were built across the municipality. The road network was developed within the limits of the municipality, which began being served by transport such as the tram and train. The main artery of Valongo and Ermesinde saw the opening of commercial establishments. During this time, the local population increased with migration from the interior of Portugal.
<small>(Obs.: Number of inhabitants (Residents))</small>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="13" | Number of inhabitants per Age Group
|- bgcolor="white"
|
| align="center" | 1900
| align="center" | 1911
| align="center" | 1920
| align="center" | 1930
| align="center" | 1940
| align="center" | 1950
| align="center" | 1960
| align="center" | 1970
| align="center" | 1981
| align="center" | 1991
| align="center" | 2001
| align="center" | 2011
|- bgcolor="white"
|0-14
| align="center" | 4 305
| align="center" | 5 186
| align="center" | 5 420
| align="center" | 6 019
| align="center" | 8 596
| align="center" | 9 646
| align="center" | 12 259
| align="center" | 15 380
| align="center" | 19 503
| align="center" | 16 466
| align="center" | 15 349
| align="center" | 15 539
|- bgcolor="white"
|15-24
| align="center" | 2 229
| align="center" | 2 475
| align="center" | 2 901
| align="center" | 3 589
| align="center" | 4 112
| align="center" | 5 392
| align="center" | 5 627
| align="center" | 6 840
| align="center" | 11 913
| align="center" | 13 937
| align="center" | 13 060
| align="center" | 10 480
|- bgcolor="white"
|25-64
| align="center" | 4 570
| align="center" | 5 272
| align="center" | 5 713
| align="center" | 6 876
| align="center" | 9 447
| align="center" | 11 421
| align="center" | 13 788
| align="center" | 16 960
| align="center" | 28 969
| align="center" | 38 470
| align="center" | 49 173
| align="center" | 55 353
|- bgcolor="white"
|= or > 65
| align="center" | 633
| align="center" | 633
| align="center" | 605
| align="center" | 782
| align="center" | 1 051
| align="center" | 1 390
| align="center" | 1 626
| align="center" | 2 085
| align="center" | 3 849
| align="center" | 5 299
| align="center" | 8 423
| align="center" | 12 486
|- bgcolor="white"
| > Age unknown
| align="center" | 35
| align="center" | 27
| align="center" | 26
| align="center" | 26
| align="center" | 60
|}
<small>(Obs: From 1900 until 1950, data refers to de facto population, who were present in the region. Hence, some differences can be expected relative to the resident population.)</small>
Administration
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):
- Alfena
- Campo e Sobrado
- Ermesinde
- Valongo
Culture
Religious Patrimony
The municipality has a vast religious patrimony, which includes the Mother Churches, chapels, shrines, calvaries and cruises, often associated with religious festivities and local folk stories. Bugiada e Mouriscada is a festivity where populars stage a fight between Bugios (christians) and Mourisqueiros ( non-believers) by the possession of John the Baptist, alongside other folk and everyday lives activities.
Slate
There's a strong presence of slate mining industry and different transformative industries associated with slate, whose industrialization began in the 19th century and matured in the 20th century. Slate was formed 350 million years ago by a metamorphosis of shale, clay and volcanic ash that results to a fine-grained foliated rock. Common application and uses of slate can be found in writing slates, blackboards, as a roofing material, for billiard table tops and in the decoration industry. The Slate Museum (Museu da Lousa) is located in the town of Campo.
Portuguese traditional toys
Alfena is home to an industry of handmade portuguese traditional toys, made using different kinds of available, and often recycled, materials including paper, wood, plate, celluloid and plastic. Toys often depict objects used in daily tasks.
Regueifa and Biscuits
Regueifa is a form of bread popular in northern Portugal. The manufacture of bread in Valongo has been documented since the Middle Ages. In addition to being an indispensable daily food, a means of paying forums, it is likely that the biscuit was part of the sailors' rations during the period of the discoveries, thus paving the way for the manufacture of the biscuit that we know today. With the introduction of American big corn, the bread came to prominence and with the French invasions the “mollet” started to be produced. Currently, regueifa is considered a delicacy in the world of bread, with the regueifa of Valongo being famous in northern Portugal.
Sports
Valongo has a strong tradition in roller hockey, centered around Associação Desportiva de Valongo. Known for its passionate local support, the club has consistently recorded some of the highest attendance figures in Portuguese roller hockey. Founded in the early 1970s, the club currently fields multiple youth and senior teams. Its matches are hosted at municipal sports facilities in the city.
The municipality is also home to Clube Desportivo de Sobrado, a football club based in the parish of Sobrado. The club currently competes in the Elite Série 2 of the Porto Football Association and has previously played in the Campeonato de Portugal and the Taça de Portugal.
Infrastructure
Transports
Valongo's transport infrastructure connect it to Porto and the wider Porto Metropolitan Area. The municipality is traversed by highways A4 and A41 and National Roads 15, 105, 209. Public transportation to Valongo includes railway and bus services.
The municipality includes two larger railway stations in Ermesinde and Valongo and stops in Palmilheira, Cabeda, Suzão, São Martinho do Campo and Travagem. Ermesinde station is located at the intersection between the Douro and Minho lines and is serviced by suburban and inter regional railway services to Porto, Braga, Guimarães, Viana do Castelo, Marco de Canaveses, Régua and Pocinho. The station in Valongo and all stops except Travagem are located in the Douro line and are serviced by suburban trains between Marco de Canaveses and Porto. The stop in Travagem is located on the Minho line and is serviced by suburban trains running between Porto and Braga or Guimarães.
UNIR and STCP provide most local bus services to Valongo, connecting it to Porto and other areas of Porto Metropolitan Area. Auto Viação Pacense operates two routes between Porto and Paços de Ferreira, via Alfena, while Auto Viação Landim operates a route between Celorico de Basto and Porto, via Valongo. Lastly, Rodonorte operates bus services between Porto and Felgueiras, Lixa and Amarante, via Valongo.
Healthcare
There are three hospitals in Valongo municipality, one public and two private. The public hospital is a part of the University Hospital of São João and it is located in the center of Valongo. One private hospital is located in Alfena, while the other is in the parish of Campo e Sobrado.
Notable people
- Adriano Bessa (born 1976), a former footballer who played as a right-back.
- Francisco Chaló (born 1964), a football manager and former footballer.
- Martim Fernandes (born 2006), a professional footballer who plays as a right-back.
- António Dias de Oliveira (1804-1863), the President of the Council of Ministers in 1837.
- Josué Pesqueira (born 1990), known as Josué, a footballer with over 260 club caps and 4 for Portugal.
- Filipa Pinto (born 1971), a politician from the LIVRE party and member of the Assembly of the Republic.
- Nuno Ribeiro (born 1977), a former professional road bicycle racer.
- Bruno Silva (born 1988), a cyclist.
- Rui Vinhas (born 1986), a cyclist.
See also
- Serras do Porto Park