Ermesinde

Ermesinde
Ermesinde
Settlement
	Coat of arms
Country	Portugal
Area
• Total	7.42 km2 (2.86 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	40,000
• Density	5,400/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Website	http://www.jf-ermesinde.pt/

Ermesinde is a Portuguese city located in the municipality of Valongo, 9 km northeast from Porto. It has a population of about 40,000 inhabitants and an area of about 7 km². This means that although being the smallest (area wise) of the civil parishes in Valongo's municipality, it's the most highly populated with a population density of more than 5,000 per km². The river Leça crosses the town.

History

Initially a riverside village named São Lourenço de Asmes, it became a growing railworker town after the railway was built. The two most important train lines in Northern Portugal, coming from Porto and from the North, were set to meet in Ermezinde (Ermesinde's old spelling), which was, at the time, only a part of the former village. As the train station developed, the name Ermezinde surpassed in popularity the older São Lourenço de Asmes. In 1910, with the 5 October 1910 revolution, the new name was officially adopted.^[1]

During the 20th century, its proximity to Porto and the importance of the railways, made it grow, becoming one of Porto's suburban centers. As of 1990, the town reached city status, as defined by Portuguese law and granted by the national parliament. Since the, there has been some citizen pressure to make it a new municipality.

At the turning of the millennium, a new train station and culture center were built and some of the adjoining squares were improved, as part of the Polis programme.