Valpaços Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Valpaços, Distrito de Vila Real

Last modified: 2014-08-30 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: valpacos | coat of arms (bordure: pomegrenates) | pomegrenates: 8 | bees: 2 | lamb |
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• About the flag
• Version without the coat of arms
• 1999-2005 version?
• Previous flag
• Presentation of Valpaços

• Valpaços Communes
• Portugal

• Page about Valpaços at the Portuguese Municipalities’s Association website (incl. image of the arms)
  reported by António Martins, 18 Nov 2001
• Valpaços, at the English Wikipedia
  reported by António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

About the flag

It is a quite typical portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a red and white gyronny (city rank) background. This flag and arms were adopted and published in the official journal Diário da República : III Série in 2005.02.07, upon the upgrade of Valpaços from town rank in 1999.11.01.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

The arms are Azure a lamb passant Argent under two bees of the Same set in fess on the chief and on a bordure Sable eight pomegrenates Or open Gules and leafed Vert. Mural crown argent with five visible towers (city rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "Valpaços".
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

Version without the coat of arms

1999-2005 version?

Wkipemdia Commons shows what seems to be an intermediate version (flag and arms), with gyronny flag, “proper” pomegrenates and scroll with (incorrect but analogous and often used) text "Cidade de Valpaços". This is the expected design for the 1999-2005 period, with only trivial modifications of the town-era flag. However, Sérgio Horta (the author of all these images) doesn't include this design (anymore) in his site, so I gather that he has no proof of their use, even unofficially.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

Former flag

Before 2005, the mural crown had only four towers (town rank), the flag was quarterly of white and red (town rank) and the the pomegrenates were Proper, depicted as light pinkish brown. This flag and arms were adopted and published in the official journal Diário do Governo : I Série in 1936.05.04.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

Before 2005, the pomegranates were Proper, depicted as light pinkish brown.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

Presentation of Valpaços

Valpaços municipality had 19 512 inhabitants in 2001, and it consists of 31 communes, covering 553,06 km². It is part of Vila Real District, traditional province and 1999 ref. adm. region Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, C.C.R. / NUTS II Norte, and NUTS III Alto Trás-os-Montes.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

"Valpaços" is a contraction of "vale de paços" or "vale dos paços", meaning "valley of (the) palaces", neither of which show on the arms.
António Martins, 17 Aug 2007

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