Póvoa de Varzim Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Póvoa de Varzim, Distrito do Porto

Last modified: 2017-03-24 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: povoa do varzim | anchor | cross(raguly) | rosary | crescent | sun | fishing net | ship |
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• About the Flag
• Variants with yellow Letters
• Vertical Flag
• Version without Coat of Arms
• Former Flag (1958 - 1986)
• First Flag (1939 - 1958)
• Presentation of Póvoa de Varzim

• Póvoa de Varzim Communes
• Portugal

Page about Póvoa de Varzim at the Portuguese Municipalities’s Association website (incl. image of the arms)

reported by António Martins-Tuválkin, 18 Nov 2001

About the Flag

It is a fairly typical Portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a field gyronny of eight of blue and white.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 Oct 1998

Shield Azure, an anchor, with iron and ring Argent and shaft Or forming a raguly cross, entangled in a rosary with 18 globes Or on a brown string, flanked at sinister by a crescent argent, open and at dexter a sun Or, mural crown Argent with five visible towers (city rank), and white scroll reading "PÓVOA DO VARZIM".
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 Oct 1998
Meaning:
According to Sérgio Horta sun and moon are elements always present to fishermen. The rosary is representing the great faith of the local people. The anchor is a symbol of safety on the sea.
In this municipality seat, the fishermen city of Póvoa de Varzim, traditional sea vessels and tombstones display a quite interesting traditional para-heraldic system showing cadency, inheritance and ancestry,consisting of main symbols and “modifiers”, known as siglas poveiras.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Aug 1999 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 Oct 2014

Variants with yellow letters

2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Aug 1999

2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Aug 1999

The scroll is usually black on white — though still a number of sources show it yellow on blue.
Sérgio Horta displays the arms with white scroll and golden letters.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 22 Aug 1999

Vertical Flag

There is evidence that still flags with different scrolls (white with black inscription, blue with golden inscription, white with golden inscription) are in parallel use. The city hall of Póvoa de Varzim is furthermore covered with vertical flags of variant 1 having ratio 7:4. Maybe they are one sided and thus carpets.
Source: municipal webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2017

Version without Coat of Arms

Flag and arms published in Diário da República: III Série on 27 August 1986
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 Oct 1998

Former Flag (1958 - 1986)

Before , having only town rank, Póvoa de Varzim had a plain white flag with the shield, having a blue scroll with golden inscription: "PÓVOA DE VARZIM" and a mural crown Argent with just four visible towers.
Flag and arms adopted and published in Diário do Governo: II Série on 17 October 1958
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2017

First Flag (1939 - 1958)

The first flag however had been red with centred arms as follows: Shield Or covered by a fishing net Gules with base wavy of Vert and Argent; sailing on base a vessel Sable, garnished Or and rigged Argent, in dexter chief a sun Or with face, in sinister chief a waxing crescent Argent with face. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers and blue scroll reading in black capitals "VILA DA PÓVOA DE VARZIM".
These arms however never had been very popular among the local people and thus the "old" arms, i.e. the current arms, had been restored in 1958.
Flag and arms published in Diário do Governo: I Série on 18 November 1939
Source: here
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Mar 2017

Presentation of Póvoa de Varzim

This municipality has 55 810 inhabitants in 86 km² and belongs to the old province of Douro Litoral, to the region to be of Entre-Douro-e-Minho and to the current Porto District
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 Oct 1998

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