Póvoa de Varzim Parish
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Póvoa de Varzim is a former Portuguese civil parish, located in the city of Póvoa de Varzim. It is the core of the city of Póvoa de Varzim and until the new city limits established in 1995 it was the single parish that made up the city.[1] In the census of 2011, it had a population of 28,420 inhabitants and a total area of 5.25 km2. A 2012 law merged the parish with neighbouring Argivai and Beiriz, becoming the southern parish of the city of Póvoa de Varzim, known as União das Freguesias da Póvoa de Varzim, Beiriz e Argivai.
Póvoa de Varzim is densely populated. The medieval town of Varzim was a knights honour and the Port of Varzim was disputed between the local lordship and the early Portuguese kings.
Religiously speaking, there is no Póvoa de Varzim parish; it was divided into three parishes in 1935, parochial identity of its main quarters (Bairro Norte, Bairro Sul and Bairro da Matriz) predate this event. Póvoa de Varzim ecclesiastical parish (Santa Maria de Varzim Parish) existed only between 1456 and 1935. Prior to that, and despite the existence of a chapel, it was part of a larger Argivai parish, that still exists as a separate although diminished parish in the city.