Lourinhã is a beautiful village in the Centre-West region of the Country, with a rich history, situated in between valleys, hills and fertile soils, bathed by the blue Atlantic Ocean.
This is a region inhabited since remote periods, in fact, in this region were found some of the most important vestiges of Dinosaur presence in the Country, dated from the Upper Jurassic period.
Lourinhã village was already important during the Roman occupancy period when its name was “Laurinius” and the ocean levels were higher.
The territory was also occupied by Moors that supposedly built here a fortress in the Castle Mount, and conquered back by the first Portuguese king, D. Afonso Henriques.
The village has had a slow development, being able to keep almost intact its rural character allied with a touristic development that its 12 km of Costline offer, in a place of great natural beauty.
Lourinhã is proud of its lovely heritage, with monuments such as the Santa Maria do Castelo Church (an ancient Moorish fortress, and nowadays a building from the 14th century), or the Misericórdia Church (17th century), the São Sebastião Chapel (18th century), the Convent and Church of Santo António or the lovely Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciação.
The Fonte Lima Park is another highlight of the village, built around a natural fountain, constituting a lovely leisure space, with a snack park and a children’s area. Also the charming Nossa Senhora dos Anjos Garden with a lovely Chapel dated from the 16th century, provides great moments of leisure and peace of mind.
Throughout the territory are situated several Windmills, symbol of the important rural heritage of other times, as it is still visible in the nearby Moita dos Ferreiros charming locality.
Quite interesting is the Lourinhã Museum, with Archaeology, Religious Art, Ethnography and Palaeontology collections. The Museum has the biggest Iberian collection of Dinosaurs fossils dated from the Upper Jurassic Period, one of the most important in an international level.
