Explore Manteigas

The history of a village

Manteigas was created between 1186 and 1188. Although its birth certificate - charter issued by D. Sancho I - was lost in time, there is no doubt of the promulgation of such a diploma, since the 1514 Foral, kept in the municipality, makes express reference to the existence of a charter granted by D. Sancho I.

One of the versions for the origin of the name Manteigas associates the word with the plural of butter, derived from the Latin nattalica-natosince this «It was formerly a very abundant place of cows, where good butters were made, from which it took its name» (Chorografia Portugueza e Descripçam Topográfica do Famoso Reyno de PortugalPadre António Carvalho da Costa, 1706-1712).It is also associated the toponym to the word "manteca", which means "small blanket", a theory sometimes rejected if we relate it to the shepherds' cloaks that have always been long.

There is yet another version: that the family name “Manteigas” has been used as the name of the village. Dona Urraca Nunes Manteiga appears as an anthroponym in 1258 linked to the municipality of Guimarães, cited by José Pedro Machado and José Mattoso, who found this name on more than ten portions of land in the same municipality, where Dona Urraca Manteigas would own. An anthroponym of this kind may well have been transformed in the name of a place. The presence of several bearers of this name may explain the plural: Manteigas. The case of names of people who gave names to villages are numerous everywhere and it is not surprising that the family group surname established in this place gave rise to the expression “the place of the Manteigas”.

Upon arrival visit the Historic Center, the religious heritage, the Trout Nursery and the CIVGLAZ – Centro Interpretativo do Vale Glaciar do Zêzere.

Past

A village marked by the mountain, pastoralism, textiles...

Agriculture

typical of the mountain

Architecture

reveals the geology of the region

How to get there:

Casa Cerro da Correia

Manteigas | Portugal