| Type: | municipality |
| Official Name: | Ílhavo |
| Flag Border: | no |
| Coordinates: | 40.6°N -48°W |
| Region: | Centro |
| Cim: | Região de Aveiro |
| District: | Aveiro |
| Leader Party: | Unir para Fazer, 2021-2025 |
| Leader Name: | João Campolargo |
| Area Total Km2: | 73.48 |
| Population Total: | 39,239 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Parishes: | 4 |
| Holiday: | Easter Monday (date varies) |
Ílhavo (pronounced as /pt/) is a municipality located in the centre of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 39,239,[1] in an area of 73.48 km2.[2]
The Municipality of Ílhavo includes four parishes and two cities: Gafanha da Nazaré and Ílhavo (City).
Several stories have been gathered as part of the history of this city:
Traditionally, the local women - As ilhavenses - are famous for their beauty. It is claimed the city was founded by Greek colonists around 400 BC to whom the beauty of "ilhavenses" women is attributed, but others state that the Phoenician settlers are the ones responsible for that.[3]
Ílhavo's nickname is "the city of the lamp" (a cidade da lâmpada). According to legend, one Sunday during Mass, one of the most important relics of the church (an oil lamp) was stolen in front of everybody and was never found. The myth continued given Ílhavo that nickname.
Administratively, the municipality is divided into four civil parishes (freguesias):[4]
There are two cities in the municipality.
The municipality day is Easter Monday.
City hall motto: "The Sea as Tradition".
Museums and visitor attractions in the area include the Maritime Museum of Ílhavo, with its Codfish Aquarium, Santo André's Ship Museum and the Investigation and Entrepreneurship Centre, one of the most visited across the country, honouring all those who, in the past and the present, dedicate their lives to fishing, either at deep-sea – such as cod fishing – at the coast or at the lagoon, and even to riverside activities.
Of that same type is the Museum of Vista Alegre, yet today, a symbol for national excellence on the fields of creativity, quality and entrepreneurship. It reminds not only the industrial heritage of this factory, but also the path of its working community, living in that which is one of the biggest, oldest and still-working European industrial neighbourhoods, almost a mini-city, where there is a lot to learn and to live. Along with this relevant intangible heritage are the Cardadores, iconic figures from Vale de Ilhavo's traditional Carnival.
Such a lifestyle, from each one of the communities of this polycentric territory, is taken out from the gardens, streets and alleys into the cultural equipments… the “Casa da Cultura” is a second home for spectators and artists, a place to welcome the world, the “Fábrica das Ideias”, just as the industrial city where it is settled – Gafanha da Nazaré – produces and exports art, by being at the service of artistic creation. The “Laboratório das Artes - Vista Alegre Theatre” is a space aimed at thinking, research and experiment, by welcoming the most erudite cultural events, either classical or contemporary. Finally, “Cais Criativo” is a young and effervescent space in the summer, relaxing, just as the beach where it is located – Costa Nova, and introspective and inspiring during the winter.
Sailing, surfing, kitesurfing, canoeing or diving, apart from major water sports and other sport varieties, are the motivational poster of the estuary and the sea, natural amphitheatres for water sports, at a Municipality where bikes, hiking or sport practice at the various public fields, are part of leisure activities, which also includes relaxing at the charismatic beaches of Barra and Costa Nova.
| Population of Ílhavo Municipality (1801–2021) [5] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 1849 | 1900 | 1930 | 1960 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2008 | 2011 | 2021 | |
| 5 436 | 6 797 | 13 163 | 17 709 | 25 108 | 31 383 | 33 235 | 37 209 | 41 271 | 38 598 | 39 239 | |
Grindavík, Iceland
New Bedford, United States Newark, United States
Paraty, Brazil Cabo Frio, Brazil
St. John's, Canada