Oliveira de Azeméis

Oliveira de Azeméis is a city and a municipality located in Porto Metropolitan Area in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 68,611, in an area of 161.10 km². The city itself has a population of about 20,000. Oliveira de Azeméis is located 35 km to the south of Porto. It is less than 20 km far from the Atlantic Ocean. It has connection the following motorways: A1, A29 and A32; and the IC2 expressway. It is served by Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport/Oporto’s airport.

The present Mayor is Joaquim Jorge, elected by the Socialist Party.

The municipal holiday is the Monday that follows the 2nd Sunday of August.

In the centre there is a marian sanctuary of some importance, La-Salette. It was built in order to honor the apparitions of Virgin Mary in the small village of La Salette, Isère, in France. What is very striking about this sanctuary is that it contains the finger of a burglar that tried to steal some precious artifacts (one night a guard shot a burglar with his shotgun and only hit his finger). The finger lies inside an alcohol jar right in front of the chapel.

Facilities

Local facilities include:

Hospital de São Miguel
Higher education schools
Secondary schools
Basic schools
Regional museum
Hotel
Post Office
Police station
Clinic centres
Tourism office
Library – Biblioteca Municipal Ferreira de Castro

Sports

Its most prominent sports club is the U.D.O.União Desportiva Oliveirense which fields teams in football, basketball and ring hockey. One other club is Futebol Clube Pinheirense (FCP), it is a club dedicated mostly to football. They have a kids school in partnership with Benfica.

Economy

Among its most well-known companies are Simoldes and Lactogal.

It is an important industrial area, producing a wide variety of goods:

Moulds
Dairy produce
Shoes
Car components
Springs
Mattresses

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 12 civil parishes (freguesias):

Cities and towns

There is one city in the municipality: Oliveira de Azeméis. The towns are