Rio Maior Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Rio Maior, Distrito de Santarém

Last modified: 2015-11-07 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: rio maior | salt pyramids(2) | bar(wavy) | watermill(wheel) |
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• About the Flag
• Version without Coat of Arms
• Previous Symbols (1936 - 1986)
• Presentation of Rio Maior

• Rio Maior Communes
• Portugal

• Page about Rio Maior at the Portuguese Municipalities’s Association website (incl. image of the arms)
  reported by António Martins, 18 Nov 2001

About the Flag

It is a fairly typical Portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a field gyronny of 8 of white and green.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 Sep 2007

Shield Sable on a ground Vert charged with a fess wavy Azure fimbriated Argent two salt pyramids Argent set in fess, on chief watermill's wheel Argent. Mural crown Argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "CIDADE DE RIO MAIOR"
Meaning:
The salt pyramids stand for the local unique salt mines — an underground filon of fossil seaborne halite which is drained by a river (also shown on the arms, as usual, and refered in the town’s name — canting arms) and deposited in a small alluvial plain, the salt being thus twice dissolved.
António Martins-Tuválkinand André Serranho, 6 Apr 2007 / 21 Sep 2007

Version without Coat of Arms

Previous symbols (1936-1986)

The current flag and arms were adopted upon upgrade to city status in 14 August 1985, with trivial changes in the previous, (town rank), flag and arms, which were adopted and published in the official journal Diário do Governo : I Série on 4 December 1936. It had four visible towers in the crown, the scroll read "VILA DE RIO MAIOR" and the background was quartered.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 Sep 2007

Flag and arms published in the official journal Diário da República: III Série on 26 June 1986, upon upgrade to city status in 14 August 1985 with trivial changes in the previous (town rank) flag and arms.
António Martins, 21 Sep 2007

Presentation of

Rio Maior municipality had 21 110 inhabitants in 2001, and it consisted of 14 communes, covering 272,18 km². It is part of Santarém District, traditional province Ribatejo, 1999 ref. adm. region Estremadura e Ribatejo, pre-2002 C.C.R. / NUTS II Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, current C.C.R. / NUTS II Alentejo, and NUTS III Lezíria do Tejo.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 Sep 2007

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