Braga

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Braga is a city and municipality in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho, Braga district capital and one of the largest and oldest cities. He is Cávado River Valley. The city is distinguished by a large number of markets and churches. As a religious and theological center of the leading Roman Catholic Church and the Archbishop Primate of Portugal head earned the nickname "City of the archbishops' and 'Rome of Portugal'.

In time the area became an important industrial and technological center. As the number of inhabitants - 175 073, is the fifth city of Braga in Portugal, after Lisbon, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia Amadora. It is the capital of Minho metropolitan region, with a total population of 826,833 inhabitants (2007) and is one of the regions with the fastest economic growth in the European Union. Urban area lies between the river and the river is Cávado and is linked by rail to Porto (at a distance of 53km) and Lisbon.
In the past belonged to the historical province of Braga called Entre Douro e Minho, meaning "between the Minho and Douro, bounded by the river Minho Douro River to the north and south. Braga is one of the oldest cities in Europe, was founded during the Roman domination as the steering Galaecia Augusta Roman capital of the province.

Unlike Lisbon, Evora and Coimbra, Braga did not benefit in the sixteenth century the profits made by the Age of Discovery. It still came out of the economic situation worse because many public works financed by Archbishop Diogo de Sousa, which included widening of roads, construction of public markets, hospitals and churches rise. He made improvements to the building added a new cathedral and the chapel in style manuelian. Thanks to Diogo de Sousa entered the city in the medieval era and became truly Renaissance Rome Portugal.
In the eighteenth century saw Braga a new period of prosperity when the archbishops and architects like André Soares and Carlos Amarante still gave him a string of impressive public buildings in baroque style. Where were build new town hall, public library, the Catholic shrine of Bom Jesus do Monte and numerous palaces.

But the city was hard hit in the early nineteenth century from the Napoleonic invasion. In the second half of this century due to Portuguese and Brazilian returnees, Braga had new beauty, the architectural innovations and infrastructure improvements. Demographic pressures and new urbanism in the twentieth century, and they require further adjustment of the infrastructure.

Braga | Braga is a city and municipality in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho, Braga district capital and one of the largest and oldest cities. He is Cávado River Valley. The city is distinguished by a large number of markets and churches

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