Facts About Nazaré, Portugal - Messages From The Road

Origins & Name:

According to local tradition, the name “Nazaré” comes from a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary originally from Nazareth (in the Holy Land).

The legend says a monk brought this statue from Nazareth to a monastery near Mérida, Spain in the 4th century, and in 711 another monk (known as Romano) — along with the king of the Iberian Peninsula, Roderic — transported the statue to the Atlantic coast.

They settled atop the cliffs above what is now the town. When the statue was left there, the place gradually became known as “Nazaré” — a reference to its original connection to Nazareth.

Legend of the Statue & the Miracle that Defined the Town

The statue — often called the “Black Madonna of Nazaré” — is said to be an ancient wooden carving (some legends claim it was carved by Saint Joseph while in Nazareth, with faces and hands later painted by Saint Luke).

According to tradition, the statue was hidden in a cliff grotto when Moorish invaders threatened the region. It remained forgotten for centuries until the statue was rediscovered in the 12th century. The most famous legend linked to it involves a 12th-century Portuguese knight, Dom Fuas Roupinho. One foggy morning in 1182, while hunting deer near the cliffs, his horse suddenly stopped at the edge of a deadly precipice — after he called upon Our Lady of Nazaré. This miraculous rescue was attributed to her protection.

In gratitude, Fuas Roupinho ordered a small chapel — the Ermida da Memória — built right over the grotto. Over time, the chapel became a pilgrimage site. In 1377, a larger church was commissioned by royalty — eventual expansions led to today’s grand sanctuary.

The current Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré sits on the cliff-top part of the town (known as “Sítio”) and remains the spiritual heart of Nazaré, famous for its Black Virgin statue and stunning ocean views, a significant pilgrimage site with roots in ancient legends, providing breathtaking vistas over the famous surf town.

The interior consists of a single nave, in the shape of a Latin cross, covered by a wooden ceiling painted in the style of the period. At the entrance to the Tribune there was a large painting on canvas, alluding to the miracle of the apparition of Our Lady of Nazaré to D. Fuas Roupinho, which can be admired at the entrance to the nave on the left side.

The sacred image is wrapped in a green mantle embroidered with gold, a gift from King John V to the Virgin. The transept is covered by a large dome, which was created in 1837. The main arch is completely filled with gilded wood carvings and inlays, relating to the main candles that were carried here annually, ending with the royal coat of arms between volutes.

Throughout the town — in street names, area names, and local lore — the connection to Our Lady of Nazaré remains alive. The story isn’t just a legend: it shapes identity, community, and faith even now.

Nazaré is famous for it’s HUGE surf waves and is home to the biggest wave ever surfed back in 2017 measuring 24.38 metres (80ft). Nazaré is the place big-wave surfers come to try their luck and to tackle the walls of water that form as a result of the deep underwater canyon sitting just off the coast that generates the huge waves.