Ericeira

Ericeira is a civil parish and seaside resort/fishing community on the western coast of Portugal, in the municipality of Mafra, about 35km northwest of the capital, Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 10,260, in an area of 12.05 km². Ericeira is regarded by some as being Europe's Surf Mecca, due to the exceptional coastline conditions for the practice of Surf. It is home for Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve, the first in Europe and the second in the world.Ericeira was a popular summer retreat for many of Lisbon's families in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, it is a popular destination for local and visiting tourists, as well as surfers from around the world (owing to the forty beaches with good conditions in the area).HistoryThe region's taxonomic name has a convoluted history. Ericeira is believed to have originated from Ouriceira, itself a derivative of Ouriço, referring to the name for sea urchins (used in the parish's coat-of-arms). One legend suggested that Ericeira was the terra de ouriços, a species associated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte. The ancient settlement presumably dates from the passage and colonization of the Phoenicians.The region's first foral (charter) dates to 1229, when it was issued by friar D. Fernão Rodrigues Monteiro, Master of the Cavalry and the Military Order of São Bento de Avis, which was later reformed by King Manuel, in 1513.