Bragança is a city and municipality in north-eastern Portugal, capital of the district of Bragança, in the Terras de Trás-os-Montes subregion of Portugal.

Physical geography

Bragança lies on a branch of the Sabor River south of the Culebra Mountains, 255 km northeast of Porto, 515 km from Lisbon and 22 km from the Spanish border.

Ecoregions/Protected areas

The municipality of Bragança is part of the frontier of the Montesinho Natural Park, established in 1979 to safeguard the distinct elements of the region. The creation of this ecoregion was made to preserve the existing qualities and allow human/cultural interaction. Montesinho is classified into forests and woods (oak and chestnut plantations at the base of the Coroa Mountains, the Tuela and lower Baceiro Rivers); wood and pine forests (forests and shrub vegetation in the western and eastern Rio Maças, Aveleda, Portelo/Montesinho, Mofreito/Montouto, Pinheiros, Serrea da Coroa, Vilar Seco da Lomba); a sub-Atlantic mixed farming area (around the Tuela and Baceiro Rivers); open space that allows farming along the plateaus of Baçal, Aveleda, Onor, Deilão); and the granite mountains of oak and birch species, mainly within the park and Pinheiros area.

Climate

The climate in Bragança (the northeasternmost district capital city in Portugal) is Mediterranean (Csb bordering Csa, according to the Köppen climate classification), influenced by the distance from the coast and the elevation. It is very similar to the continental climate of the Spanish Meseta, which means cooler winters and shorter hot summers. It is one of the snowiest Portuguese cities, however this may vary a lot between winters, with less than 5 snow days (2007/2008) to more than 20 (2008/2009).

Economy

Economically the region still produces olive oil, grains, chestnuts and livestock, especially sheep. In recent years agriculture has suffered a decline with the abandonment of the villages and the aging of the rural population. Bragança is a city of services with a dependence on state-run institutions like the Polytechnical Institute of Bragança and the regional hospital for jobs.

Bragança is an anchor of the regional economy, resisting the desertification of the hinterland, and concentrating public sector administration in the region. In Bragança, approximately 16% of the population is involved in the secondary industrial sector, while 60% are associated with the tertiary service sector, alluding to a problem in attracting investments in the secondary sector. Employment is primarily driven by the tertiary sector, including commerce, restaurants and hotels, but also civil construction (which is the second largest employer of local residents). Although there has been a positive evolution, industrial activities still remain weak, hindered by the evolution of the market in this region.

Due to its location near the Spanish border, the city receives tourists from Zamora, León, Salamanca, Asturias and elsewhere.

Transportation

Located eight kilometres from the city centre, the municipal/regional airport (Bragança Airport), with scheduled flights by Aero VIP to Lisbon (LIS) and Vila Real (VRL). 

Bragança Airport is located north of the city, in the parish of Aveleda, accessible by taxi or bus route. The aerodrome was expanded and the runway enlarged, including new navigational systems, new lighting and support facilities, in order to increase mid-size aircraft to be on par with other European regional airports.

Architecture

Notable landmarks in the city include the 12th-century Domus Municipalis (Portugal’s oldest and largest town hall) in Romanesque style, the Renaissance cathedral, and the old town walls, which are still well preserved and look down on the river and the modern city.

Education

The student population of Bragança is heavily concentrated within the city, its population for 1999-2000 was 14,406 registered students. Of this number the largest frequency of students were enrolled in the state-run higher-education technical college (polytechnic institute): the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB).

The remaining higher-education enrollees are dispersed at the Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração (Superior Institute of Languages and Administration) and Escola Superior de Enfermagem (Superior School of Nursing). Other institutions of education include 4650 students enrolled in secondary and junior high schools, 874 in technical/professional schools, 2868 in primary schools and 614 in pre-school programs.

In many villages there are not enough children to maintain the rural schools, which are gradually being closed by the government.