Exploring Portugal: Valença do Minho

Following a brief exploration of Viana do Castelo, I caught a train to the second and final stop on my itinerary, Valença do Minho. A walled town located on the bank of the Minho river, which establishes the border with Spain, Valença do Minho has a population of around 14,000 and was officially recognised as a city in June 2009.

The city's origins date back to Roman times, reminders of which can be found in two of the roads. There is also a 1st century Roman milestone inside the fortified walls marking the 42 mile distance on the road connecting Braga, then known as Bracara Augusta, to Tui in Spain, which the Romans called Tude. However, the city as we know it was founded in the 12th century by King Sancho I, the second king of Portugal (r. 1185-1212). At the time it was called Contrasta, which means "village opposed to another", in this case Tui in the Spanish province of Galicia. The name was changed to Valença in the 13th century by Sancho's grandson, King Afonso III (r. 1248-1279).

I'm afraid I don't know very much more about the city's history. So instead of prattling on about things I'm not qualified to talk about, I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

A section of the well-preserved fortified walls

The main street inside the walls

  

The archway joining the two halves of the walled town



Another look at the fortifications

Iglesia de Santa María dos Anjos



Capela da Misericórdia

Yet another glimpse of the fortifications



Capela de São Sebastião

View across the Minho to Tui in Spain

The old International Bridge connects Portugal to Spain

Inspired by the work of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge was completed in 1884



From the bridge, it's a short walk into Tui in Spain

The Minho acts as the border between Spain (on the left) and Portugal