The District of Vila Real ( pt, Distrito de Vila Real ) is a district of northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. With an area of , the district is located east of the port city of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

and north of the

Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

. Vila Real has always belonged to the historical province of Trás-os-Montes. Approximate population in the 2001 census was 230,000. The population has shown negative rates in recent years due to emigration and aging. Many of the villages have lost population and have become deserted while the district capital has gained in population. It is bordered by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

( Galicia) in the north and east, Braga District and

Porto District The District of Porto ( pt, Distrito do Porto ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro and Viseu districts to the south, Br ...

in the west,

Viseu District The District of Viseu ( pt, Distrito de Viseu ) is located in the Central Inland of Portugal, the District Capital is the city of Viseu. Municipalities The district is composed by 24 municipalities: * Armamar * Carregal do Sal * Castro Daire * ...

in the south and

Bragança District Bragança District ( pt, Distrito de Bragança ; mwl, Çtrito de Bergáncia) is a traditional political division of Portugal, in the northeast corner bordering on Spain ( Castile and Leon and Galicia), covering 7.4% of the nation's continental l ...

in the east.

Geographic and socioeconomic characteristics

Vila Real is a rugged area of low mountains and narrow valleys. Historically it had always been cut off from the coast by the Marão, Gerês, and Cabreira mountains until a highway was cut through in the eighties. Due to poor soil, agriculture has always been a struggle, although wine grapes are produced in the south near the

. Potatoes, corn, and rye have always been the traditional crops, as well as limited

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

. Extensive areas are covered in pine forest. Granite and the manufacture of mineral water—the waters of

Vidago Vidago is a village and a former-civil parish in the municipality of Chaves, in the Portuguese district of Vila Real. Until its merger into the parish of Vidago, Arcossó, Selhariz e Vilarinho das Paranheiras., the civil parish administered an ar ...

and

Pedras Salgadas Pedras Salgadas () is a small spa town in the district of Vila Real, in Northern Portugal, located approximately 37 km north of the district capital of Vila Real. It is famous for its mineral waters. There are several small hotels in the area ...

are nationally famous—are two important industries. There was formerly a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway (the

Corgo line The Corgo line ''(Linha do Corgo)'' was a railway line in northern Portugal. It closed in 2009. It ran north from Régua (a junction station on the main Douro railway line running along the Douro Valley) to Vila Real and Chaves. The lin ...

) which linked the town of Vila Real with

Peso da Régua :''Regua leads here. For American major general, see Eldon Regua'' Peso da Régua (), commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2011 was 17,131 (of which approximately 10,000 ...

on the Douro River. Until 1990 the railway reached as far north as Chaves. The remaining, southern part of the Corgo line closed in 2009.

Population trends

The largest towns are all very small, when compared to provincial capitals in neighboring

. When we talk about population of urban centers two figures are used in Portugal, one number for the

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal ...

or municipality, which can be as large as (

Odemira Odemira ( or ) is a town and a municipality in Beja District in the Portuguese region of Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 26,066, in an area of 1720.60 km2, making it the largest municipality of Portugal by area. It is famous for its wi ...

in the

district of Beja The Beja District () is located in southern Portugal. The district capital is the city of Beja. It is the largest district of the country by area, and constitutes around 11% of its area. Municipalities The district is composed of 14 municipali ...

) or as small as (

São João da Madeira São João da Madeira (), is a city and a municipality in northwestern region of the Portuguese Norte region. It's part of the larger Porto Metropolitan Area, located 30 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 21,713. With an area ...

in the

district of Aveiro Aveiro District ( pt, Distrito de Aveiro, or ) is located in the central coastal region of Portugal. The capital of the district is the city of Aveiro, which also serves as the seat of Aveiro Municipality. Aveiro District is bordered by the Po ...

), and another number for the main urban center itself. Often it is difficult to determine which parishes make up the urban center and which make up the rest of the concelho. Official census figures give populations of concelhos and not urban centers, so this can be misleading. Often the head of the municipality can be relatively small with most of the population residing in rural parishes. Chaves, for example has 12,000 in the urban parishes (2) and 29,000 in 49 rural parishes for a total municipality population of 41,000. In order of population,

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

capital has roughly 25,000 in the urban parishes, Chaves 12,000, followed by Valpaços,

, and the other seats of concelhos, all of which have fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The population density of the district is sparse, 54 people per square kilometer. Most of this population lives in the concelhos of the south—Vila Real, Santa Marta, Régua, Sabroso, and Alijó. The area between the district capital and the Douro river is especially more densely populated, with Régua having a population density of 212 per km², and Santa Marta with 128. There is a relatively populated area east of the capital. North the population clusters follow the Corgo river valley with many small villages on the river valley or veiga south of Vila Pouca. The geological fault linking Vila Pouca with Chaves is also quite populated. Then north and south of Chaves population density increases (68 per km²). The area to the west—the Barroso—or to the east—Serra do Brunheiro is sparsely inhabited. Montalegre has a population density of 22 per km², although the number of small villages scattered across the area gives a different impression. A closer look shows that many of the houses are no longer lived in and many have been abandoned. Much of this population still lives in villages, many of which have fewer than 100 inhabitants. Over seventy-five percent of the population in fact lives in centers with fewer than 5,000 people, which is the cutoff point for urbanization. If we take the total population of 230,000 in 1991 and single out the largest centers with more than 10,000 people—Chaves, and Vila Real—whose total population is under 30,000, we can see that over seventy five percent of the population is rural or semi-rural. This lack of middle-sized urban centers in the province is a reflection of the loss of population of the region as a whole over the last twenty years, due to lack of job possibilities. It also means that the Transmontano still has a rural lifestyle and all that this implies in cultural habits, including outlook towards education, innovation in business, and acceptance of different ideas.

Municipalities

The district is composed of 14 municipalities: *

Alijó Alijó () is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real. The population in 2021 was 10,486, in an area of 297.60 km2. History There are several megalithic structures, dolmens and castros in Alijó ...

Boticas Boticas () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,750,

* Chaves *

Mesão Frio Mesão Frio () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,433, in an area of 26.65 km². History The occupation of the territory of Mesão Frio dates back to the Romans, who occupied a castro in ...

Mondim de Basto Mondim de Basto () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,493, in an area of 172.08 km2. The present Mayor is Bruno Ferreira, elected by the psd Party. The municipal holiday is July 25. Pari ...

Montalegre Montalegre () is a municipality in northern Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real, along the border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 10,537, in an area of 805.46 km². History Early construction in Montalegre date back 3500� ...

Murça Murça () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,952, in an area of 189.37 km². It is situated in the central part of the eastern district of Vila Real, and consigned to the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region. ...

* Ribeira de Pena *

Sabrosa Sabrosa () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,361, in an area of 156.92 km². History Although the municipality was established on 6 November 1945, the history of the region ex ...

Santa Marta de Penaguião Santa Marta de Penaguião ( or ) is a Portuguese municipality in the district of Vila Real, in the northern region of Douro. The population in 2011 was 7,356, in an area of 69.28 km2. History The history of Santa Marta de Penaguião is affir ...

Valpaços Valpaços () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 16,882, in an area of 548.74 km2. History The first documents that cite Valpaços date back to the 12th century. Its toponymy evolved from pre-national settlem ...

Vila Pouca de Aguiar Vila Pouca de Aguiar () is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal. Its population in 2011 was 13,187,Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

Summary of votes and seats won 1976-2022

, - class="unsortable" !rowspan=2, Parties!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S!!%!!S , - class="unsortable" align="center" !colspan=2 , 1976 !colspan=2 , 1979 !colspan=2 , 1980 !colspan=2 , 1983 !colspan=2 , 1985 !colspan=2 , 1987 !colspan=2 , 1991 !colspan=2 , 1995 !colspan=2 , 1999 !colspan=2 , 2002 !colspan=2 , 2005 !colspan=2 , 2009 !colspan=2 , 2011 !colspan=2 , 2015 !colspan=2 , 2019 !colspan=2 , 2022 , - , align="left", PS , , 26.3 , , 2 , , 24.8 , , 2 , , 22.8 , , 1 , , 32.3 , , 2 , , 23.0 , , 2 , , 20.3 , , 1 , , 26.0 , , 2 , , 40.0 , , 2 , , 40.8 , , 2 , , 31.9 , , 2 , , style="background:#FF66FF;", 43.8 , , style="background:#FF66FF;", 3 , , 36.1 , , 2 , , 29.1 , , 2 , , 33.1 , , 2 , , 37.2 , , 2 , , style="background:#FF66FF;", 41.3 , , style="background:#FF66FF;", 3 , - , align="left",

PSD PSD may refer to: Educational bodies * Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, a Pre-K to 12th grade school for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Philippine School Doha, a Filipino scho ...

, , style="background:#FF9900;", 39.0 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 4 , , align=center colspan=4 rowspan=2, ''In AD'' , , style="background:#FF9900;", 42.0 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 42.2 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 62.5 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 5 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 60.6 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 4 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 46.0 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 45.5 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 54.1 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , 40.2 , , 2 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 41.1 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 51.4 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , align=center colspan=2 rowspan=2, ''In PàF'' , , style="background:#FF9900;", 39.0 , , style="background:#FF9900;", 3 , , 40.0 , , 2 , - , align="left", CDS-PP , , 18.3 , , 1 , , 12.7 , , 1 , , 12.5 , , 1 , , 5.0 , , , , 5.1 , , , , 7.8 , , , , 6.8 , , , , 8.1 , , , , 6.8 , , , , 10.1 , , , , 8.7 , , , , 4.5 , , , , 1.6 , - , align="left", AD , , colspan=2, , , style="background:#00FFFF;", 57.7 , , style="background:#00FFFF;", 4 , , style="background:#00FFFF;", 62.1 , , style="background:#00FFFF;", 5 , , colspan=26, , - , align="left", PàF , , colspan=26, , , style="background:#00AAAA;", 51.0 , , style="background:#00AAAA;", 3 , , colspan=4, , - ! Total seats , , colspan=2, 7 , , colspan=12, 6 , , colspan=18, 5 , - ! colspan=33, Source
Comissão Nacional de Eleições

References

{{Authority control Districts of Portugal

Geographic and socioeconomic characteristics

Population trends

Municipalities

Summary of votes and seats won 1976-2022

See also

References