
Beira () was one of the six
traditional provinces or ''
comarcas'' of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
.
The territorial extension is different from that of the area called ''the Beiras'', which refers to three provinces of 1936,
Beira Alta,
Beira Baixa and
Beira Litoral.
Geography
The most important cities within the borders of the traditional province are:
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of .
The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
,
Aveiro,
Leiria,
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...
,
Castelo Branco,
Guarda,
Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...
,
Covilhã and
Pinhel.
The main river is the
Mondego; other rivers include the
Vouga,
Dão,
Côa,
Zêzere and
Paiva. The largest mountain range is
Serra da Estrela – Continental Portugal's highest – other ranges being the
Caramulo,
Marofa,
Gardunha, and
Bussaco.
Administrative history
After the 15th Century, the new Kingdom of Portugal was divided into six great administrative units, referred to as
comarcas. Since the Middle Ages there existed the
Beira Province.
1832
In 1832 this province was divided into
*
Beira Alta
*
Beira Baixa
1936
In 1936 these were divided among three provinces, one of which contained area that was not included in Beira Province:
*
Beira Alta - "natural" regions of
Beira Alta and
Beira Transmontana
*
Beira Baixa
*
Beira Litoral
Sometimes collectively referred to as ''the Beiras''.
1976
In 1976 the provinces were abolished leaving only the 18
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
.
* Beira Alta Province:
**
Guarda District
**
Viseu District
The Districts of Portugal, District of 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 Municipality, Armamar
* Carregal d ...
* Beira Baixa Province:
**
Coimbra District
Coimbra District (, or ) is located in the Centro Region, Portugal. The district capital is the city of Coimbra.
Municipalities
The district is composed by 17 municipalities:
* Arganil
* Cantanhede
* Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ), of ...
**
Castelo Branco District
* Beira Litoral Province:
**
Aveiro District
Aveiro District (, ) 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 Porto District to the north, ...
**
Coimbra District
Coimbra District (, or ) is located in the Centro Region, Portugal. The district capital is the city of Coimbra.
Municipalities
The district is composed by 17 municipalities:
* Arganil
* Cantanhede
* Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ), of ...
** North of
Leiria District
1976 postal code areas divide the region in
*
Beira Interior
*
Beira Litoral (postal region)
1998
Law 19/98 of 1998 divided the area into
* Beira Litoral
* Beira Interior
2011
The current
Centro Region of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
covers roughly the same area.
Oeste Subregion, part of
Estremadura, is the major exception. Among its twelve subregions three contain the name "Beira":
*
Beira Interior Norte,
*
Beira Interior Sul and
*
Cova da Beira
The name also is contained in the name of many small towns and villages in the area, e.g.
Moimenta da Beira,
Celorico da Beira,
Aguiar da Beira,
Mondim da Beira etc.
Maps
File:Antigas Provincias Portugal.png, Medieval Beira
File:Provincia Beira Alta.png, 1936 Beira Alta
File:Provincia Beira Baixa.png, 1936 Beira Baixa
File:Provincia Beira Litoral.png, 1936 Beira Litoral
File:Postal regions portugal.jpg, postal code regions yellow Beira Litoral, brown Beira Interior
File:Proposta_Regionalização_1998.png, 1998 Law - Beira Litoral and Beira Interior
File:LocalRegiaoCentro.svg, Centro Region
File:LocalNUTS3BeiraInteriorNorte.svg, Beira Interior Norte
File:LocalNUTS3BeiraInteriorSul.svg, Beira Interior Sul
File:LocalNUTS3CovaDaBeira.svg, Cova da Beira
See also
*
Centro, Portugal
*
Beira, Mozambique
Beira () is the capital and largest List of cities in Mozambique, city of Sofala Province, in the central region of Mozambique.
Beira is where the Pungwe River meets the Indian Ocean. It is the fourth-largest city by population in Mozambique, af ...
*
Prince of Beira
Prince of Beira (, feminine: ''Princesa da Beira'') is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the King of Portugal, throne of Portugal. The title's original use that it be granted on the eldest daughter of the reigning monarch of P ...
, a former royal title
*
Beiras wine region
*
Administrative divisions of Portugal
Portugal is a unitary state with delegated authority to three levels of local government that cover the entire country:
* 2 Autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira), and in Continental Portugal: 2 Metropolitan ar ...
References
{{Coord missing, Portugal
Regions of Portugal