With more than 2000 years of history, Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the world.
FFounded by the Romans in the year 16 BC and denominated "Bracara Augusta" in honor of the emperor Caesar Augustus. It was the capital of Galicia, from where 5 Roman roads radiated, with a vast territory that ran from the north of the Douro to the Bay of Biscay. After the conquest and reconquest of several peoples, the king of Leon, D. Afonso IV, donated it as a dowry to his daughter D. Teresa, at the time of his marriage to Count D. Henrique of Burgundy.
The long history of Braga is visible in its monuments and churches, with the most imposing Cathedral, displaying many styles, from the Roman to the Baroque, also taking pride in the splendid houses, particularly of the eighteenth century.
A young, cosmopolitan and multicolored city, Braga confidently displays a wide range of success and prosperity scenarios, extending its tutelary and entrepreneurial arms to areas as vital as culture, commerce, industry and services.
Those who visit us have the possibility of making a documented civilizational journey, from prehistory to the present day, and living the authentic Minho culture, engraved in the vast heritage, ethnographic groups and handicrafts, festivals, fairs and pilgrimages, as well as in a rich and varied gastronomy.
The Holy Week of Braga is one of the most outstanding examples of a vast cultural and tourist program that seduces and attracts those who visit the city of Braga, known by many deserving epipets, such as "archbishop's city" and "Portuguese Rome", and where the perennial sound of the bells of its countless churches and chapels echoes in the heart of those who visit us and causes a nostalgic feeling of longing and desire to return.