Cinfães


Cinfães is a town and municipality on the southern bank of the Douro in the District of Viseu, in Northern Portugal. The town proper had 3,080 inhabitants as of 2021, while the municipality had a population of 17,293 as of 2024, across an area of. Cinfães occupies a predominantly rural territory, and its landscape is marked by rugged and uneven relief, such as the Montemuro mountain range.
The present mayor is Carlos Cardoso, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is June 24.
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History

Cinfães' history is linked to the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques and several noblemen of his entourage, like the server Egas Moniz. Cinfães received its foral from Manuel I in 1513. In Cinfães existed several fortified houses or towers like "Torre da Chã" destroyed during the first half of the 20th century.
The village of Sanfins in the modern day municipality of Cinfães, received a foral in 1514 and was its own municipality until 1855.
In 1941, a caused significant damages in Cinfães and led to two recorded deaths in the village of Gralheira.

Geography

Cinfães is located in northern Portugal, approximately east of Porto, within the District of Viseu and the Tâmega e Sousa subregion. The municipality covers an area of and it is bounded by the Douro River to the north, the Paiva to the west and the Cabrum to the east. Administratively, it is bordered by Baião and Marco de Canaveses to the north, Resende to the east, Castro Daire to the southeast, Arouca to the southwest and Castelo de Paiva to the west.
The landscape of Cinfães is predominantly rural and marked by a rugged and uneven relief, composed of steep slopes and narrow, linear valleys shaped by long-term tectonic activity. In the southeast of the municipality, lies the Montemuro mountain range, reaching, near the border with Castro Daire.
The town of Cinfães lies near the confluence of the Douro and Bestança rivers. The later flows through the municipality in a north-northwest to south-southeast direction and its valley hosts agricultural fields and vineyards.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 14 civil parishes :

Climate

Climate conditions vary with altitude and exposure. Average annual temperatures are around, with colder conditions on the higher slopes of Montemuro and warmer summers along the Douro Valley. Precipitation ranges from roughly per year in the lower river basins to more than in the mountains.

Landmarks

It has an important heritage resource, especially the Romanesque churches such as St. Cristóvão de Nogueira; Santa Maria Maior de Tarouquela, Igreja do Escamarão, Ermida do Douro among many important others churches, specially dated to the Baroque period, like the one of São Pedro of Ferreiros de Tendais, and Santa Cristina of Tendais.

Sport

Cinfães is home to the football team Cinfães, who play at the Estádio Municipal Cerveira Pinto.

Notable people