Gafanha da Nazaré, a port town shaped by cod
Gafanha da Nazaré is known for its cod-fishing heritage, best seen aboard a 1948 side trawler that is now a museum. Read on to find out how settlers farmed the white dunes, how the Port of Aveiro grew here and how a sandy forest was turned into farmland.
0 breweries · 0 venues
Gafanha da Nazaré is a coastal city at the northern end of the municipality of Ílhavo, and an important port centre that includes the coastal fishing port and the Port of Aveiro. People began settling the Gafanha peninsula in the 17th century, and by 1758 it was a small village. In the 19th century settlers, mainly from Vagos and Mira, came to farm the stubborn white dunes, followed by workers drawn by the port works, the lighthouse, the shipyards, the salt pans, the cod-drying grounds and the planting of the Gafanha forest.
The parish was created in 1910 by royal decree of King Manuel II. It became a town in 1969 and a city in 2001. In 1942 the Estado Novo set up an agricultural colony in the Gafanha national forest to turn sandy soil into farmland, with 75 farming households, two primary schools, a chapel and a medical post.
The city's best-known landmark is the Navio-Museu Santo André, part of the Ílhavo Maritime Museum. This side trawler was built in the Netherlands in 1948 for the Portuguese cod fleet; at almost 71 metres long, its hold could take 1,200 tonnes of fish. After restrictions on fishing in distant waters led to the scrapping of much of the fleet, it was dismantled on 21 August 1997 and opened as a museum in 2001, showing how cod trawling worked and honouring its crews. Other buildings of note include the Casa Gafanhoa and the parish church.
The craft beer scene in Gafanha da Nazaré is still waiting to be discovered. With Ílhavo and Aveiro close by, travellers can look around the wider area to see what is being poured nearby.
No places listed here yet.
Frequently asked questions
Gafanha da Nazaré is a coastal city at the northern end of the municipality of Ílhavo. It is an important port centre that includes the coastal fishing port and the Port of Aveiro, and the towns of Ílhavo and Aveiro are close by, so it is easy to combine with a wider visit to the area.
Visitors can go aboard a side trawler built in the Netherlands in 1948 for the Portuguese cod fleet, now part of Ílhavo's maritime museum. Almost 71 metres long, with a hold for 1,200 tonnes of fish, it was dismantled on 21 August 1997 and opened as a museum in 2001, showing how cod trawling worked.
Settlers began arriving on the Gafanha peninsula in the 17th century, and by 1758 it was a small village. In the 19th century farmers, mainly from Vagos and Mira, worked the stubborn white dunes, followed by workers drawn by the port works, the lighthouse, the shipyards, the salt pans and the cod-drying grounds.
Gafanha da Nazaré became a city in 2001, after being made a town in 1969; the parish itself was created in 1910 by royal decree of King Manuel II. In 1942 an agricultural colony with 75 farming households, two primary schools, a chapel and a medical post was set up in the national forest.