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Mêda Municipality (Portugal)

Concelho de Mêda, Distrito da Guarda

2:3 image by Sérgio Horta, 14 Dec 2006

About the Flag
Version without Coat of Arms
Presentation of Mêda

See also:

About the Flag

It is a quite typical Portuguese municipal flag, with the coat of arms centred on a plain green background.
António Martins-Tuválkin,

Coat of arms

image by Sérgio Horta, 14 Dec 2006

The arms are argent issuant from a ground sable semee of plants vert a hayheap vert and or topped by an ear of maize proper. Mural crown argent with four visible towers (town rank) and white scroll reading in black upper case letters "VILA DE MÊDA".
Meaning:
The arms are canting for "mêda" (also spelt "meda") means "hay heap". Though the municipality and its seat are one of the least known in the country, in includes in its territory at least three noteworthy sites, such as Marialva, Longroiva and Rabaçal.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 Dec 2006

Flag and coat of arms adopted and published in the official journal Diário do Governo : I Série in 1935.11.08. Mêda was promoted from town to city in late 2004 (though its population has decreased 50% in the last 40 years!) but this is not yet reflected in the arms. Hopefully the need to dully update the mural crown will be used as an opportunity to give this municipality some real heraldry, instead of a farming postcard.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 Dec 2006

Version without Coat of Arms

Plain (monocoloured) Portuguese subnational flags are not allowed to have variations without arms: plain flags always carry the coat of arms.
Jorge Candeias, 18 Jul 1999

Presentation of Mêda

municipality had 6239 inhabitants in 2001, and it is divided in 11 communes, covering 285,91 km². It belongs to: Guarda District, traditional province Beira Alta, 1999 ref. adm. region Norte, C.C.R./NUT2 Centro, and NUT3 Beira Interior Norte.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 Dec 2006

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