The Region

The northeastern region of Portugal, leaning against Galicia and Leão-Castilha (Spain). "Beyond the Marão" and the elevations that accompany the Douro valley, since the end of the Middle Ages was a province of Portugal, administratively, militarily and judicially.

It was also designated by Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, since it also comprised the famous Alto Douro area, where the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, a world heritage site, emerges.

Currently there is no administrative division "province" and its territory is distributed by the Districts of Bragança, Vila Real and, as for Douro Sul, the Districts of Guarda and Viseu.

It is an area of plateaus separated by mountains, grooved by rivers and streams that have dug deep valleys, from which the diversity of human, vegetable and animal settlements and different agricultural practices: Mediterranean crops and right next door or, higher up, the characteristics of continental and mountain climates.



Cultural Aspects

The "Wonderful Kingdom" as the great Miguel Torga called it. Wonderful for the brave, simple, hospitable and hardworking people. Wonderful for the breathtaking landscapes, nature in its utmost splendor, in its contrasts that make it unique.

Wonderful in the ancestral culture in which crosses from the popular roots of agricultural practices, folguedos, the cycles of rural life, the Caretos de Podence to the Pauliteiros de Miranda, the festivals and fairs, the bois arrived...

In the simpleness, sometimes rude and practical of its built heritage: the numerous castles, bridges, roads, churches... The exclusivity of Domus Municipalis and the grandellinousness of the castle in Bragança, the old town of Miranda do Douro, intra-muros, reminiscent of the medieval street of Rua da Costanilha, marking the landscape over the deep Douro and the plateau to lose sight of the top of its cathedral and the ruins of the castle mark the Mirandum War or Fantastic War , a sign of its resistance to Spain; from the churches of Vimioso, from Freixo de Espada to Cinta, from Moncorvo, from Outeiro, from Chaves to Azinhoso; from the sentinel castles of Algoso and Montalegre to the medieval, Romanesque or "Roman" bridges of Mirandela, Chaves, Gimonde, Algoso or Santulhão, the manor house of Mateus (Vila Rela), the Távoras (Mirandela), the numerous manor houses of old fidalgas houses, the human brand in the construction of the Azibo and the terraces of the Douro.

Wonderful in the rich gastronomy, the alheiras, the folares, the sausages of pork bisaro, the mirandese veal, barrosã or maronesa, the mirandês lamb, bragançano-Galician, the goat and the honey of Montezinho, the game dishes (the boar, the rabbit, the partline, the hare, the deer), trout, scalles and bogs.

All washed down with the best olive oil in the world!

Christmas or easter sweets, such as folares and the excellent almond pastel of Vimioso.

The good wine of Terra Fria, sparkling wines, port and mesa wine, douro and terra quente.

Trás-os-Montes - Meirinho Biológico - Azeite Extra-Virgem

Socio-Environmental Involvement

Trás-os-Montes, like other interiors of the country, is marked by strong depopulation, with its counterpoint of emigration, mainly to Europe (France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and Switzerland) and South America (Brazil and Uruguay).

The main urban centers have collected much of the population that has abandoned rural areas, by changing the economic and social paradigm. The services, teaching, tourism and agriculture of almost subsistence mark this picture, where the Univerdade of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, the district hospitals, the irrigation system of the Vilariça Valley, some examples of industrial dynamics in Bragança and Chaves...

The diversity and contrasts of orography are characteristic of Trás-os-Montes with influence on the various micro-climates along the valleys of the rivers and streams of tâmega, Corgo, Pinhão, Tua, Tuela, Rabaçal, Vilariça, Sabor, Maçãs, Angueira, Douro, gerês mountain areas, Alvão, Montezinho, Bornes, Nogueira, the plateaus of miranda land , bragança, the veiga de Chaves.

Due to the diversity of the climate, orography and characteristics of the soils, there is also a rich and varied distribution of crops, especially the Mediterranean (olive, vineyard, almond), mountain (chestnut, cherry, walnut), more temperate areas (traditional fruit, red fruits).

The cereal crop that before the leads of emigration of the 1960s was dominant, became residual, largely limited to cereals par pasture or i think of livestock.

Some of the products produced in Trás-os-Montes are of the highest quality, especially wine, olive oil, almond and chestnut, despite the quantities (with the exception of wine) are not competitive.

But for some reason it is said that Spanish and Italian or, internally Alentejo, when they want to improve the quality of their lots of olive oil, add olive oils from transmontans. Or, that the almond transmontana is much richer and valued than that of California or Spain.

Nature, still with unique characteristics, appealing to its wild state led to the creation of protected areas: Parque do Douro Internacional, Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, Parque Natural de Montesinho, wild rivers integrated in the natura network (Sabor, Maçãs, Angueira, Rabaçal, Tuela...).

Cultura Socio-Ambiental - Meirinho Biológico