about the place
Ponte da Barca is located in Alto Minho, in the District of Viana do Castelo, on the banks of the river Lima. The municipality covers 182.11 km², has 11,044 inhabitants (2021) and 17 parishes. The town takes its name from an old ferry that carried pilgrims crossing the river on the way to Santiago; the bridge itself was only built in the mid-14th century. In the inquiries of 1220, the territory appears as Terra da Nóbrega. It received a royal charter from Queen D. Teresa in 1125, confirmed by D. Afonso II in 1217, and a new royal charter from D. Manuel I in 1513, who ordered the erection of the pillory. The market arcades date from 1752. In 1917, in the hamlet of Barral, in Vila Chã, apparitions of Our Lady of Peace took place, now venerated at a sanctuary. The municipality is linked to the mother of Saint Anthony of Lisbon, born at the Casa do Paço in Lavradas, and to the family of Fernão de Magalhães, from Paço Vedro de Magalhães. In Lindoso stands the highest point of the municipality, Louriça, at 1,361 metres, in the Serra Amarela.
