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HistoryFor the Ecclesiastical history see Archbishopric of BragaAntiquityThe region of Braga has been inhabited since pre-historic times, and in the Iron Age the Bracari people occupied the region and built their characteristic fortified villages (castrum). The Romans began their conquest of the region around 136 BC, and during the times of Emperor Augustus (around the year 20 BC) the city of Bracara Augusta was founded in the context of the administrative needs of the new Roman territory. Bracara was dedicated to the Emperor, hence its name Augusta.The city of Bracara Augusta developed greatly during the 1st century and reached its maximum extension in the 2nd century. Towards the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Diocletianus promoted the city to the status of capital of the newly-founded province of Gallaecia. During the times of the Germanic Invasions of the Iberian Peninsula, Roman power was dissolved and Bracara Augusta and the whole region of Gallaecia fell into the hands of the Sueves, a Germanic people from Central Europe. In 410, the Sueves established a Kingdom in the Northwest of Iberia and chose Bracara as capital. Braga had an important role in the Christianisation of the Iberian Peninsula. The first known bishop of Braga, Paternus, lived in the end of the 4th century. In the early 5th century, Paulus Orosius, a friend of Saint Augustine born in Braga, wrote several theological and historical works of great importance. In the 6th century a great figure was Saint Martin of Braga, a bishop of Braga who converted the Sueves from Arianism to Catholicism. He also founded an important monastery near Braga, in Dumio (Dume), now an archaeological site. Several Ecumenic Councils were held in Braga during this period, a sign of the religious importance of the city.
Middle AgesThe history of Braga during Visigoth and Arab times is very obscure and represent periods of decadence for the city. The bishopric is restored in 1070 and the first new bishop, Pedro, starts rebuilding the Cathedral, many times modified in the following centuries. In the early 12th century, Count Henry of Portugal and bishop Gerald of Moissac manage to turn Braga into an archbishopric seat, with power over a large area in Iberia. The mediaeval city develops around the cathedral and covers only a fraction of the ancient Roman city. The maximum authority in the city remains that of the archbishop.Modern AgeIn the 16th century, Braga did not profit from the Age of Portuguese Discoveries, that favoured cities like Lisbon, Évora and Coimbra. This situation was changed by Archbishop Diogo de Sousa, who sponsored several urban improvements in the city, including the enlargement of streets, the creation of public squares and the foundation of hospitals and new churches. He also modernised the cathedral by adding a new main chapel in the fashion of the time, the manueline style. Diogo de Sousa turned the mediaeval town into a renaissance city, and many of his improvements can still be seen in modern Braga.Another golden age for the city was the 18th century, in which archibishops and architects like André Soares and Carlos Amarante dotted the city and surrounding region with beautiful baroque churches and civil buildings. The Municipality, the Public Library building, the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte and many urban palaces date from this period. The 19th century was a difficult period for the city and the country, which had been invaded by Napoleonic troops. In the second half of that century, the influence of Portuguese imigrants who had lived in Brazil introduced new tastes and improvements in the city architecture and infrastructure. In the 20th century Braga faced great demographic and urbanistic pressures, and the infrastructure of the city had to be greatly improved to meet the new needs. Arts and architectureThe city of Braga and surrounding region have many historical monuments. Some examples:City centre: *Idol's Fountain (Fonte do Ídolo, 1st century AD): Roman fountain dedicated to an indigenous god, Tongoenabiagus. Bears reliefs and inscriptions. *Braga Cathedral (Sé de Braga, 12th-18th centuries): The most important historical monument of the city. Rich mix of architectural and artistic styles. *Tower of Braga Castle (14th century): Gothic tower left from the ancient castle of the city. *Coimbras Chapel (Capela dos Coimbras, early 16th century): Richly decorated chapel in renaissance and manueline styles. *Archbishop's Palace (14th-18th centuries): Gothic, mannerist and baroque wings. Houses the Library of the City. *New City Gate (Arco da Porta Nova, 18th century): Beautiful baroque-style city gate that substituted an earlier Gothic gate. *Municipal Palace (18th century): Baroque building. *Palácio do Raio (18th century): Outstanding baroque-roccoco urban palace with richly decorated façade. Outside city centre: *Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary (18th-early 19th century): Neoclassic church with a magnificent baroque stairway. Located in the city surroundings. *Falperra Church (18th century): Good example of baroque architecture with pentagonal floorplan and roccoco façade. *Monastery of Tibães (17th-18th centuries): Benedictine monastery of great artistic importance in Portugal. Notable inner gilt work. *Sameiro Sanctuary (19th-20th centuries): Important pilgrimage centre dedicated to the Virgin Mary.A modern symbol of the city is the new Braga Municipal Stadium, carved out of the Monte Castro hill that overlooks the city. Commerce, Business and TransportationThe major industries in the municipality are construction, metallurgy and mechanics, software development and web design. The computer industry is growing rapidly.The most important University in Braga (and in the Minho Region) is the Universidade do Minho founded in 1973. In the city was established also, in 1967, the most important private university of Portugal, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. SportsBraga's football (soccer) team, SC Braga plays in the top division of the Portuguese Superliga.Famous Citizens*Francisco Sanches (1550-1623)Born within the diocese of Braga, he studied in Portugal until the age of 12, having then moved on to Bordeaux to continue his studies at the Colégio de Guyenne, where he studied until 1569. This college was the seat of intellectual renovation where religious reformism and the Italian renaissance had an important influence. In 1569, at the age of 19, Sanches went on to Italy, where he studied medicine and learnt how to investigate corpses. When he returned to France, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier, the city which was the centre of medical studies at the time. Two years later, in 1575, he set up residence in Toulouse, where he lived until his death. As from 1581, he took up office as a medical doctor at the Hospital Saint Jacques in Toulouse, a post which he maintained for 39 years. In 1585, he was invited to become professor of the Faculty of Arts of Toulouse, where he taught for 25 years. In 1610, he entered the Faculty of Medicine, where he remained for 11 years.*André Soares (1720 " 1769)In the eighteenth century, Braga revived and boasted a good record in flowery Baroque, featuring the Archbishop of the House of Bragança and the artistic genius of Architect Andre Soares (1720 " 1769), who for all eternity gave Braga a formidable gift, a real landmark of the Baroque in Portugal. With Engineer and Architect Carlos Amarante (1742 " 1815), the end of the century witnessed the transition to the Neoclassical. *D. Diogo de SousaIn the sixteenth century, Braga is a citadel which remains a backwater not influenced by the winds of the Discoveries and the "progress" dominant at the time. D. Diogo de Sousa (a distinguished Archbishop), a man with Renaissance ideas, is going to transform it in such a way that one might speak of it as a refoundation, and so the new Brácara has remained almost unaltered until the nineteenth century. Trivia*Braga gave its name to a historic street in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. And the musical instrument known as the cavaquinho has its roots in Braga*The instrument was once so closely associated with the region that it was called the braguinha ("little Braga"). Sources and external links*Information about Braga*Map of Braga *Braga Portal *Virtual tourist pictures of Braga *Flórez, España Sagrada (Madrid, 1754--), IV, 234-240; XV. 82-364, and passim; Aguirre, Collectio maxima conciliorum Hispaniæ (Rome, 1693); Thomas ab Incarnatione, Hist. Eccl. Lusitanæ (Coimbra, 1759-63); Tejada y Ramiro, Canones de la Iglesia de España (Madrid, 1859); Gams, Kircheng. Spaniens (1862-79). For the local historians: Argote, Cunha, Corréa, et al., see Chevalier, Topo-bib. (Paris, 1894-99), 497; ibid., Lisbon and Evora.
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