History
The origin of this parish is very old. That is shown by archeological findings. Along the river Tuela existed a fortress, called "Muradal" (for resemblance to a wall), whose rock, granite, which is well preserved. On this site were also fragments of pottery found believed to be from the Bronze Age. This confirms the antiquity of this fortress, being one of the best preserved of the municipality of Vinhais.
There is also a place called Castrilhão where they found several objects of that era.
Along the river, at the foot of Muradal, there is a cave, “Torca ou Pala dos Vermelhos”, which has been occupied since ancient times and that served as a haven for republicans fleeing the Spanish Civil War.
In the zone of Nuzedo de Baixo lies the mining complex Nuzedo / Ervedosa. These open pit mines, which some were already exploited since the Arab occupation, or even since the Bronze Age, operated until 1969, when the British owners abandoned them.
Mining brought great development to this region and made that many people of different cultures stayed here. Thus, came a mixture, which made that the people of these lands have very distinct facial features than the areas further north.
There are no indications of ancient Vale das Fontes, but there are references on Nuzedo in the Inquisition of 1258.
Both Vale das Fontes and the villages belonging to it are part of the municipality of Vinhais since the end of the twelfth century.
Read more about this topic: Vale Das Fontes
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)
“Anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get as far as fact; and anyone who has studied the history of science knows that almost every great step therein has been made by the “anticipation of Nature.””
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)