Figueira da Foz (Portuguese pronunciation: [fiˈɣɐjɾɐ ðɐ ˈfɔʃ]), also known as Figueira for short, is a

city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the
Mondego River, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by hills (Serra da Boa Viagem). The
[1] [2]
population in 2011 was 62,125, in an area of 379.05 km². The city of Figueira da Foz proper
has a population of 46,600. It is the second largest city in the district of Coimbra.
It is a coastal city with several beaches, summer and seaport facilities on the Atlantic Ocean
coast. As a tourism city, it plays an important part in the centre of the country. A zone of legal
gambling, one can find in Figueira one of the biggest casinos of the Iberian Peninsula – the
Casino Figueira.

According to the legend the place’s name is due to a fig tree, which stood at the quay of
Salmanha, where the fishermen used to tie up their boats. The historian Nelson Borges said,
however, that Figueira comes from the word "fagaria", which means "opening, huge mouth". Foz
comes from the Latin word "fouces" = "mouth of a river", and Mondego comes from the pre-
romanic expressions "mond" = "mouth" and "aec"= "river". That means, Figueira da Foz would be
"the river’s mouth opening".
Knowing the great importance rivers had in the development of cities and of ancient civilizations,
the mouth of the Mondego must have played a central role for the fixation of men in this region
and for the formation of settlements, which were the beginning of the city of Figueira da Foz.

The origins of the occupation of the territory go back to Prehistory, but the Romans left signs of
their presence, of which one can highlight the inscriptions in two denarii - one of the Vibia family,
the other of the emperor Octávio Augusto.
The Saracens are only known to have razed the village in 717. It was Count Sesnando, a
Mozarabic native of Tentúgal, who led the Christian reconquest.
The oldest known document, however, dates from the year 1096. In this an abbot named Pedro
donates estates, which belonged to the church of S. Julião, to the cathedral Sé Velha of
Coimbra.

1522
The figueirense and buarquense coast are ravaged by pirates. Houses, people and church property
are looted.
1585
The idea of the construction of the Fort of Santa Catarina was born to defend the bar of Buarcos
(Figueira da Foz)

Figueira da Foz had a huge development during the 18th and 19th centuries due to the immense
[3]
port movements and the expansion of the shipbuilding and cod drying industry, supplying the
city with new communication routes, housing and other facilities. It was elevated to vila (small
town) on 12 March 1771 and turned city (cidade) on 20 September 1882.
Due to its situation, the population has always lived linked to fishing and commerce. Other economic
activities of great relevance to the economy of the zone are port activities and shipbuilding, but later
the glass, cellulose, etc. industry.

The city acquired a new economic impulse at the end of century XIX, moment in which the aristocracy
begins to take baths in the coast of Figueira da Foz. It gained great reputation in the 1920s and
1930s. The city had the Portuguese nickname of Rainha das Praias (Queen of the Beaches).
In recent times, thanks to the beauty of its beaches and the creation of important hotel and sports
infrastructures, it has become one of the most popular holiday resorts in the center of the country.
Figueira da Foz appears as a cosmopolitan and dynamic city, especially during the summer season.