Nazaré is a town in Portugal, located in the Leiria District, in the Centro region of the Oeste subregion. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town consists of three parts: Praia (along the beach), Sítio (a former cliff-top village), and Pederneira (a former hilltop village).
*History, legend. The first settlements were Pederneira and Sítio, above the beach. These provided residents with a relatively safe haven from raids by Algerian, French, English, and Dutch pirates, which lasted until the early 19th century. According to legend, the town derives its name from a small statue of the Virgin Mary, the Black Madonna, brought by a monk from Nazareth in the 4th century to a monastery near Mérida. It was brought to Nazaré in 711 by the monk Romano, accompanied by Roderic, king of the Visigoths. Upon arriving at the seaside, the monk became a hermit. He lived and died in a small, natural grotto at the top of a cliff. After his death, and in accordance with the monk’s wishes, the king buried him in the grotto and left the statue on an altar. The first church was built over the grotto in memory of the miraculous saving of the life of the Portuguese knight Dom Fuas Roupinho (presumably a Templar) by the Virgin Mary. According to legend, in the early morning of September 14, 1182, Dom Fuas Roupinho was hunting near the coast when he saw a deer, which he immediately began chasing. The deer ran toward the top of the cliff, where a thick sea fog lay. The knight realized he was at the edge of a cliff, not far from the grotto with the statue, and began to pray. Unexpectedly, the horse miraculously stopped at the end of the cliff, thus saving the rider from a fall of over 100 meters, which would certainly have resulted in his death. To commemorate the miracle, he built a chapel (Capela da Memoria) on the grotto, where the miraculous statue had been left by Roderic after the monk’s death. In 1377, King Ferdinand I of Portugal built a larger church, which was completely rebuilt between the 14th and 19th centuries. Today, the Church of Our Lady of Nazaré is a lavish Baroque structure, with an interior decorated with azulejo tiles. Behind the altar, visitors can see and venerate the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Nazaré.
*Azulejos are thin ceramic tiles, usually square, covered with an impermeable, glossy glaze. Their surface is single-colored or multi-colored, smooth or textured. Azulejos were used as elements in mosaics composed of many, sometimes over several thousand, pieces covering entire walls, or as standalone decorative compositions. Motifs made of azulejos included historical and mythological scenes, religious iconography, and a wide range of decorative elements, both geometric and floral. Mosaics often covered entire walls and floors in palaces, gardens, churches, monasteries, as well as homes and public spaces.
*The Nazaré Elevator (Elevador da Nazaré) is a funicular railway, in the form of an elevator, that connects the two districts of Nazaré: Praia da Nazaré and Sítio da Nazaré. The first cable car was launched in 1889 and was designed by Portuguese engineer Raul Mesnier de Ponsard (the same one who designed the famous Santa Justa Elevator in Lisbon).
*Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo (Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo) is a 16th-century defensive fort built to protect against pirate raids. Since 1903, the fort has served as a lighthouse. It’s the perfect spot to admire the high waves of Nazaré, which occur at Praia Norte beach.
*Nazaré Water Park (Norpark, Aquatic Amusement Nazaré) is one of several water parks in Portugal. It features several slides, pools, a playground, and a food court.
*The main and most popular beach in Nazaré is located in the center of Nazare, in the Praia do Nazare district. This is Nazare Beach (Praia do Nazare). It is a wide, long, and well-maintained beach with golden sand, showers, restrooms, and lifeguard service.
