Bragança - Sé Velha de Bragança

In Roman times, the region belonged to the province of Gallaecia and was under the administration of Asturica Augusta (now Astorga).

The Romans were followed by the Visigoths and Suebi, who incorporated this region into their empire and introduced wheat cultivation. The first documentary mention of the settlement that developed into today's Bragança was found in the records of the Council of Lugo in 569. Under the administration of King Wamba, the town was recorded as Bregancia in 666.
From 711, the Visigoths were expelled by the Moors. The area was probably sparsely populated when the Reconquista emerged and pushed the Moors southwards. Due to its location on strategic transport routes, Bragança became increasingly important, especially after Portugal gained independence in 1139. King D. Sancho I rebuilt the badly damaged town, refortified it and granted it city rights in 1187. In 1199, D. Sancho I freed the town from the siege by Alfonso IX and established the current Portuguese place name.

In the course of the revolution of 1383 and the attempt by the hereditary Castile to take over Portugal, Bragança fell to its neighbour. It has been Portuguese again since 1401
The church of São João Baptista, known as Sé Velha (old cathedral), was built in the 16th century as part of a monastery complex. It was initially the church of a Jesuit college dedicated to the name of Jesus and from the 18th century until the new Bragança Cathedral was built, it was the episcopal see of the Bragança-Miranda diocese. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the church was remodeled in the Baroque style under the Jesuits.

A Lourdes grotto