Vieira do Minho Municipality (Portugal)

Last modified: 2005-08-26 by antonio martins
Keywords: vieira do minho | coat of arms | canting | river minho | scallops: 3 (white) | scallop (white) | shell | grenate | ribbon (red) |
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• About the flag
• Presentation of Vieira do Minho

• Municipalities of Portugal
• Portugal

• Page about the municipal flag and coat of arms of Vieira do Minho at Sérgio Horta’s website (in Portuguese).
  reported by Jorge Candeias, 29 Feb 1999
• Municipal website
  reported by Dov Gutterman, 23 Jun 1999
• Page about Vieira do Minho at the Portuguese Municipalities’s Association website (incl. image of the arms)
  reported by António Martins, 18 Nov 2001

About the flag

It is an atypical portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centered on a background gyronny of black and yellow that would usually imply a city status, but yet this is a town. The coat of arms is argent, three grenates open gules lined or and leaved vert, surrownded by two ears of corn of the same, all bounded by a ribbon gules; chief or three scallop shells argent lined sable; campaign azure, a wavy fess argent. Correct mural crown argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "VILA DE VIEIRA DO MINHO".
António Martins, 22 Aug 1999

This one of those intersting cases where a town (vila) uses a gyronny background flag, instead of quartered: Gyronny, along with the five tower crown, is the mark of city (cidade) status of the municipality seat
António Martins, 24 Jun 1999

The arms are canting as "vieira" means "scallop shell" and the wavy fess refers to the river Minho ("do" means "of the").
António Martins, 26 Aug 2001

Presentation of Vieira do Minho

Vieira do Minho municipality had 15 540 inhabitants in 1990, and it is divided in 21 communes, covering 219 km². It belongs to the Braga District and to the old province of Minho.
António Martins, 22 Aug 1999