BECAUSE THERE IS A PLACE WHERE WE CREATE MEMORIES THAT WILL LAST FOREVER. BRAGANÇA, NATURALLY!
Bragança maintains a singular setting of built patrimony that is compacted in an historic centre, easily visited on foot. Its polished stones have witnessed a troubled History, going back to the Bronze Age, that included the presence of Romans, Suebi and Visigoths, and continued with combats that helped defining the frontier lines and the settlement’s strategic relevance.
The 15th century Donjon Tower strikes out in what is one of the more harmonious and best preserved castles in Portugal, part of a monumental setting that merits reference for its originality. Such is the case with the enigmatic Domus Municipalis, a building that is believed to have served both the functions of a water cistern and a meeting place for the ‘good men’ of the municipality. Next to it stands the elegant Church of Santa Maria, with a baroque frontage in altarpiece style, that mimics in granite the gilded carved woodwork of the altars. As a unique connection between very distinct epochs, the medieval pillory is incrusted with the figure of a ‘berrão’ (yeller), a zoomorphic statue from the protohistoric period, originated in the pre-roman settlements of the region. Outside the walls, the cobblestone streets guide the traveller through a rosary of temples, including the St. Francis Convent, the churches of St. Vicente and Misericórdia, and the Old Cathedral, with a Renaissance cloister and sacristy worth of an attentive visit. The same route goes past many magnificent manor houses, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, that are presently at the service of several public institutions.
Domus Municipalis
Basilica of Santo Cristo de Outeiro
For Bragança, the way to the future rests on millennia-old traditions. On this dynamic town, known for its eclectic cultural offer, a contemporary architectural style cohabits with parades of ‘caretos’ (masked figures evoking initiation rituals), and with museums that display the region’s ethnographic legacy, just as they show the latest creations of celebrated artists. But the monumental treasures are not limited to the town’s heart; all around, one finds pure ‘jewels’ such as the Castro de Avelãs Monastery, with a circular apse built in brick, unique example of Romanesque Mudejar style in Portugal, or the majestic Basilica of Saint Christ of the Outeiro, with its splendid interior in carved baroque woodwork and valuable religious paintings.
Museums Street
Street Art
Monastery of Castro de Avelãs
Few territories possess such a rich biodiversity as one will find at the Montesinho Natural Park, located right outside Bragança. With an animal collection that includes specimens of 80% of all the mammals existing in Portugal, only here will it be possible to observe a herd of deer standing by the road, sight a fawn feeding by an oak forest, identify signs of boars on a prairie or hear the howling of a wolf.
Montesinho Natural Park
The fabulous mosaic of landscapes, composed by rounded mounts, the sunken valleys of the rivers Sabor, Maçãs and Baceiro, cereal fields, mud plains, extensive chestnut groves, forests of cork trees and the largest covered area of Pyrenean Oak Forest in Europe, is criss-crossed by numerous marked trails that allow for pleasant outings on foot or on mountain bike, among sceneries of overwhelming beauty. On this vast region, it’s still possible to discover several hamlets where the community lives in harmony with its landscape, such as Montesinho and Rio de Onor. A large part of those is still communitarian, with the grazing and crop fields, as well as brick-ovens, shared among all inhabitants. Quite popular, are the cases of popular architecture (such as pigeon houses, watermills and the community forges) that call upon the use of materials characteristic to the region.
Montesinho
Bragança’s gastronomy is reputed for the quality of its produce, with tastes and aromas that seem to exhale from the fields where they’re grown. Its preparation seems simple, when done by experienced hands that know well the origin of the ingredients, brought many times straight from the vegetable garden to the kitchen. One thing is for sure: the dishes that you’ll taste in Bragança, will linger for a long time in your memory.
