FAFE
GPS: N 41.44966; W 8.16585
It is the seat of a municipality with an area of 219.08 km² and 50 633 inhabitants (2011).
Due to emigration to Brazil, Fafense architecture had its first influences from the lands of Vera Cruz. The greatest example of this is the Hospital São José de Fafe. The building of Hospital de Fafe owes its construction to the financing of “Brasileiros de Torna - Viagem”, and emigrants in Brazil, being an architectural replica of another one, existing in Rio de Janeiro.
Fafe is located in a valley between Serra da Lameira, Montes da Penha and other mountains. In an aerial view, three rivers stand out, surrounded by trees and stretching through the outskirts of the city. They are the Rio Ferro that has its source in Ribeiros, the Rio do Bugio that begins its route to the sides of S. Gens and the Rio Vizela that welcomes the other two and empties into the Rio Ave. The Rio Vizela is born in Alto de Morgaír, in the parish of Gontim, at 894 m altitude, this being the highest point in the municipality. The municipality has an average altitude of 550 m.
In the 1990s, the Queimadela Dam was built in the parish of Queimadela, on the bed of the Vizela River, to supply the municipality of Fafe with water. Nowadays, it is also used as a leisure park and is included in some walking routes as a visiting point.
In the 1990s, the Queimadela Dam was built in the parish of Queimadela, on the bed of the Vizela River, to supply the municipality of Fafe with water. Nowadays, it is also used as a leisure park and is included in some walking routes as a visiting point.
