BRAGANA

city, northeastern Par state, northern Brazil. Situated near the Atlantic coast, it is a regional commercial centre. Cotton, tobacco, cassava, corn (maize), rice, and sugarcane are the principal crops traded and processed in the city, which also contains lime kilns. Goods are sent to Belm, 125 miles (200 km) southwest, by railroad and highway. Bragana can also be reached by air. Pop. (1980 prelim.) 31,452. English Braganza city, capital, and concelho (municipality), Bragana district, northeastern Portugal. It lies on a branch of the Sabor River in the Culebra Mountains, 105 miles (170 km) northeast of Porto on the Spanish frontier. Originally Bragana was a Celtic city known as Brigantia; it later became the Juliobriga of the Romans. Historically the city is important as the seat of the House of Bragana, which provided the kings of Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and the emperors of Brazil from 1822 to 1889; their feudal castle (built 1187) still remains. Catherine of Bragana became the queen consort (1662) of Charles II of England. An episcopal see, Bragana was the capital of the historical Trs-os-Montes province. Notable landmarks in the city include the 12th-century Domus Municipalis (Portugal's oldest and largest town hall), the Renaissance cathedral, and the town walls, with 18 watch towers. The possessions of the House of Bragana belong to the Portuguese state and support the Fundaao da Casa de Bragana, a foundation with a library, museum, and lecture centre in the 16th-century residence of the Bragana family in Vila Viosa. Bragana is an agricultural trade centre (wine, olive oil, grains, livestock), and some manufacturing (textiles) is carried on there. The centuries-old Ash Wednesday celebration attracts many tourists each year. Bragana is connected to Porto by rail and paved road. Bragana district is largely mountainous and has an area of 2,551 square miles (6,608 square km). High-grade iron ore is mined there. Pop. (1981) city, 14,662; concelho, 35,553; (1986 est.) district, 186,400.