Taking advantage of the sands on the coast and the wood from the pine forest of Leiria, it was in Marinha Grande that, in the 18th century, the national glass industry settled.
During the last century, the city became the capital of glass in Portugal. Despite the technological transformations that eliminated manufacturing, the concentration of glassmaking remains, but with the discretion of heavy industry, and the city grew a lot with the reinforcement of the emerging activities of molds and plastics.
Highlights in Marinha Grande:
Despite the decline it is still possible to see the manual art of glass, and visit the excellent museum. Leiria’s pine forest is nature at its best, and as far as beaches go, Vieira de Leiria and São Pedro de Moel are close by.
Marinha Grande – 35 years working
