Vila Real

Douro, High Douro Trás-os-Montes

North Region (Douro sub-region) - Capital of the municipality and District of Vila Real, the city is also the capital of the former province of Trás-Os-Montes and Alto Douro, located in the northeast of Portugal.


Vila Real - the Heart of Douro and Port Wine - is the largest city in the north of the Douro Valley (the Douro Wine Region or Douro Vinhateiro / Vinhático).
See Douro Wine Map.

Location

Located on the banks of the River Corgo, a tributary of the right bank of the River Douro, the city is located at an altitude of 450 m. In Vila Real, the Cabril River flows into the Corgo River. These lands are in the designated area of Cima Corgo.

In the heart of the Douro, the municipality (municipality) is limited, on the north by the municipalities of Ribeira de Pena and Vila Pouca de Aguiar, on the east by the municipality of Sabrosa, on the south by Peso da Régua, on the southwest by Santa Marta de Penaguião, west by Amarante and northwest by the municipality of Mondim de Basto.

Rich History

As early as 1096, the place was named Constantim de Panóias by Count D. Henrique. But it was only in the 13th century that the town received, in 1289, "by charter of D. Dinis (the first given by this monarch to Vila Real)" the authorization to found the "poor of Vila Real de Panóias, who would later transform in the city of today" (CM de Vila Real).

Many nobles settled in Vila Real in the 17th and 18th centuries, which is why it was called the "Court of Trás-os-Montes", which can be seen by the numerous "stones-at-arms that attest to the titles of nobility"[ CM Vila Real] in some houses.

Land of Diogo Cão

"A great navigator who discovered the mouth of Zaire in the 15th century. It is a tradition that he was born in Vila Real, where there is still a beautiful medieval house that is said to belong to his family" (CM de Vila Real).

Parishes of Vila Real

The municipality (municipality) of Vila Real is divided into 20 parishes. See Vila Real Parishes.

Vila Real District Councils

The district of Vila Real, in turn, comprises 14 municipalities. See the See the Municipalities of the District of Vila Real.

• First Douro and Porto Wine producer: Alijó