Trás-os-Montes

Trás-os-Montes
Region
Sabor River Valley in Alfândega da Fé
Administrative borders of the region from 1936 to 1976 (Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province)
Coordinates: 41°29′N 7°13′W
Country	Portugal
Districts	Bragança, Vila Real
Demonym	Transmontano

Trás-os-Montes (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌtɾaz uʒ ˈmõtɨʃ]) is a geographical, historical and cultural region of Portugal.

Portuguese for "behind the mountains", Trás-os-Montes is located northeast of the country in an upland area, landlocked by the Douro and Tâmega rivers to south and west and by Galicia and Castile and León to the north and east. This relative isolation has led to the survival of cultural traditions that mark the Portuguese identity. On the other hand, its extreme continentality also contributed to the lack of development which led its inhabitants to seek for better conditions on the coast or emigrate to other European countries such as France, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and to Brazil.

Geography

Though the boundaries have slightly changed since its creation, traditionally, the territory comprising Trás-os-Montes is limited up north with Galicia, to the east with Castile and León, to the west with the Tâmega River and to the south with the Douro River.

Geomorphologically the mountainous Trás-os-Montes region forms a continuum with the Galician Massif, so that it is considered as a whole under the name 'Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zone'.

Though far from the Ocean, Trás-os-Montes has numerous river beaches, such as the Azibo Reservoir.

Climate

Trás-os-Montes is known by locals as the land of "10 months of winter and 2 months of hell". Due to its continentality, Trás-os-Montes has the coldest winters in Portugal, with January temperatures varying between 7–11 °C (45–52 °F) during the day and 0–3 °C (32–37 °F) during the night; and has rather hot summers, with July and August temperatures varying between 26–32 °C (79–90 °F) during the day and 12–15 °C (54–59 °F) during the night, 33–34 °C (91–93 °F) in low-lying valleys. The overall climate is Mediterranean, but rainfall is much more distributed throughout the year than in other regions of Portugal, making it relatively close to an oceanic or humid subtropical climate. This region is also more prone to summer thunderstorms than any other place in the country, due to its distance from the Azores High. Two cities from Trás-os-Montes, Chaves and Bragança, Portugal also hold the record for the highest air pressure ever recorded in Portugal, 1050.3 hPa.

Culture

Mask Diabo used on folk fest of Carnaval.

Due to the region's isolation from outside influence, many folkloric forms have remained preserved up to the modern day. One example would be the area's distinctive traditional bagpipe, the gaita transmontana. Not only did Trás-os-Montes maintain a piping tradition as bagpipes in general declined throughout Europe, but the regional bagpipe also shows many aspects of pre-modern musical scales which have been preserved. Also, it's in this region that is spoken the second official language of Portugal, the Mirandese language.

Traditions such as Careto take place in this region.

Cuisine

The gastronomy of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro reflects the difficulties experienced by the local populations of the region which had to adapt their diet to survive in the desolate region. Much of the local enchidos are made with every part of the animal, lard and bread soups were made, and high durability ingredients, such as chestnuts and casulas (bean pods that were left to dry and then cooked) were used.

Alheira, a traditional enchido from Trás-os-Montes

Dishes are mostly meat-based, a significant contrast from the average fish-eating habits of the Portuguese. Posta à mirandesa is one of the most recognizable dishes in Trás-os-Montes, along with javali no pote (wild boar), marrã à moda de Mesão Frio (pig), cabrito assado à transmontana or milhos à moda de Trás-os-Montes (similar to a cozido à portuguesa with milho-branco (crushed corn) instead of vegetables); though seafood dishes also made their way in the local cuisine: Bacalhau à bruxa de Valpaços or Polvo à transmontana (octopus) are also well known.

Sweet foods include Doce Teixeira (made with lemon and cinnamon), Pudim de castanha (chestnut pudding), and variants of classic Portuguese recipes such as Papos-de-anjo de Mirandela or Toucinho-do-céu de Murça.

Administrative history

Further information: Trás-os-Montes Province, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province, Alto Trás-os-Montes, and Terras de Trás-os-Montes

Trás-os-Montes was one of the six major administrative divisions into which the territory of Portugal was divided in the 15th century. The division was known as Comarca until the 16th century, from then on to being known as Province.

Until the 17th century, the Province of Trás-os-Montes constituted a correctional office, administered by a corregedor (a magistrate with judicial and administrative functions). At the same time, in the event of war, the province also constituted the area of action of a main frontier, a military commander who was assigned the operational command of the province's troops on campaign.

From the 17th century onwards, the province was divided into several corrections (also called comarcas), each with its own corregedor. The province then became just a statistical unit and a military region commanded by a governor of arms. At the beginning of the 19th century, Trás-os-Montes included the districts of Bragança, Miranda, Torre de Moncorvo and Vila Real. In the interior of its territory, the Ervededo couto was located, which depended on the comarca of Braga (Province of Entre-Douro-e-Minho).

The Province of Trás-os-Montes remained in the administrative division of 1832. At that time, it had a prefect - a magistrate representing the central government - and a provincial general council - a local authority, elected locally. The province was divided into the districts of Bragança, Chaves, Moncorvo and Vila Real. The counties, which were not provincial headquarters, each had a sub-prefect, who represented the prefect.

By the administrative reform of 1835, Portugal was divided into districts. The division into provinces was maintained, but these became mere groupings of districts for statistical and regional reference purposes, without their own bodies. The Province of Trás-os-Montes joined the districts of Bragança and Vila Real.

The province, now named Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and encompassing some municipalities on the left bank of the Douro, was reinstated by the administrative reform of 1936, in accordance with the Constitution of 1933 (Estado Novo). The new provinces were created, based on a geographical study by geographer Amorim Girão that identified 13 "natural regions" in the territory of mainland Portugal. The natural region of Trás-os-Montes and the natural region of Alto Douro were grouped into the province of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro.

However, the provinces never had any practical attribution, and disappeared from the administrative scene (although not from the daily vocabulary of the Portuguese) with the constitutional revision of 1959, not being recovered by the 1976 Constitution.

The proposal for regionalization subject to a referendum in 1998 (having been rejected) foresaw the creation of the Trás-os-Montes region, in every way the same as the province of 1936, with the exception of including one more municipality (Mêda).

See also

• Trás-os-Montes Province
• Geology of the Iberian Peninsula