Ericeira () is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, about 45km northwest of Lisbon) considered the surfing capital of Europe for being the only European spot among the World Surfing Reserves and due to the exceptional coastline conditions. Ericeira's population in 2011 was estimated in 10,260, covering an area of 12 km2. Ericeira was a popular summer retreat for many of Lisbon's families in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, it is a popular destination for local and visiting tourists, as well as surfers from around the world (owing to the forty beaches with good conditions in the area). History The region's taxonomic name has a convoluted history. Ericeira is believed to have originated from Ouriceira, itself a derivative of Ouriço, referring to the name for sea urchins (used in the parish's coat-of-arms). One legend suggested that Ericeira was the terra de ouriços (land of ouriços), owing to what was assumed to be an abundance of sea-urchins along the beaches. However, recent investigations, archived in the Museum of the Misericórdia, confirm that the animal mentioned was not an "ouriço", but an "ouriço-caixeiro" (hedgehog), a species associated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte. The ancient settlement presumably dates from the passage and colonization of the Phoenicians. The region's first foral (charter) dates to 1229, when it was issued by friar D. Fernão Rodrigues Monteiro, Master of the Cavalry and the Military Order of São Bento de Avis, which was later reformed by King Manuel, in 1513. Ericeira was an area much frequented for its climatic and seaside comforts. In fact, Charles Lepierre, a chemical engineer referred to Ericeira's beaches as "a focus of the major concentration of iodine in all of the northern Portuguese coast". In 1803, the Bishop of Coimbra took regular baths in Ericeira, and the Royal Family including Queen Maria Pia of Savoy in 1864 also frequented its waters. After the disappearance of King Sebastian of Portugal, during the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, there arose several pretenders to the throne. One of these was the King of Ericeira, a young hermit based in the Chapel of São Julião, south of the village of Ericeira, who passed himself off as Dom Sebastian. He crowned a Queen, distributed handouts and punished his detractors, conceding several noble titles. In the end, he was taken to the guillotine, and his supporters too ended-up on the