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Braganca (Portugal)




Europe is one of the five inhabited traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the waterways adjoining the Mediterranean to and including the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area and third-largest continent after Asia and Africa in population.

Braganca  is a municipality in north-eastern Portugal and the capital of the district of Braganca. The population of the municipality is 34,774 and its total area is 1,173.6 square kilometers. It lies on a branch of the Sabor River south of the Culebra Mountains, 255 kilometers northeast of Porto, 515 kilometers from Lisbon and 22 kilometers from the Spanish border. The city is at an elevation of 700 meters. The seat of the municipality is the city of Bragança, which consists of two parishes and has a population of 20,000. The neighboring municipalities are Vimioso in the southeast, Macedo de Cavaleiros in the southwest and Vinhais in the west.
 
Originally Braganca was a Celtic city known as Brigantia, it later romanized its actual name. Historically the city has been important as the seat of the House of Braganca, which provided the kings of Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and the emperors of Brazil from 1822 to 1889.
 
The landmarks in the city include the 12th-century Domus Municipalis, the Renaissance cathedral, and the old town walls, which are still well preserved and look down on the river and the modern city. In the city there is a well kept museum. Braganca is also a college town with its polytechnic institute Instituto Politecnico de Braganca.
 
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. There are many villages with not enough children to maintain the rural schools, which are being gradually closed by the government. Present day Bragança is a city of services with a dependence on government institutions like the polytechnic institute and regional hospital for jobs. As it is often regarded as among the most beautiful parts of Europe one of the most visited places amongst the most die-hard travelers the world over.

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