Description : Braga (/ˈbrɑːɡə/ BRAH-gə, Portuguese: (About this soundlisten); Proto-Celtic: *Bracara) is a city and a municipality in the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga, in the historical and cultural Minho Province. The city has a resident population of 192,494 inhabitants (in 2011), representing the seventh largest municipality in Portugal (by population). Its area is 183.40 km2. Its agglomerated urban area extends from the Cávado River to the Este River. It is the third-largest urban centre in Portugal (after Lisbon and Porto). It is host to the oldest Portuguese archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Braga of the Catholic Church and it is the seat of the Primacy of the Spains. Under the Roman Empire, then known as Bracara Augusta, the settlement was the capital of the province of Gallaecia. Inside of the city there is also a castle tower that can be visited. Nowadays, Braga is a major hub for inland Northern Portugal and it is an important stop on the Portuguese Way path of the Road of St James. The city was also the European Youth Capital in 2012. The Romans began their conquest of the region around 136 BC, and finished it, by pacifying the northern regions, during the reign of Emperor Augustus. The civitas of Bracara Augusta was founded in 20 BC; in the context of the administrative reorganization of these Roman acquisitions, Bracara was rededicated to the Emperor taking on the name Bracara Augusta. The city of Bracara Augusta developed greatly during the 1st century and reached its maximum extension around the 2nd century. Towards the end of the 3rd century, the Emperor Diocletian promoted the city to the status of capital of the administrative area Conventus bracarensis, the southwestern area of the newly founded Roman province of Gallaecia. Braga in Late Antiquity and Middle Ages During the Germanic Invasions of the Iberian Peninsula, the area was conquered by the Suebi, a Germanic people from Central Europe. In 410, the Suebi established a Kingdom in northwest Iberia covering what is present-day's Northern half of Portugal, Galicia and Asturias, which they maintained as Gallaecia, and had Bracara as their capital. This kingdom was founded by Hermeric and lasted for over 150 years. By about 584, the Visigoths took over control of Gallaecia from the Suebi, and Braga was made a provincial capital. A view of Rua Júlio Lima at the beginning of the 20th century Braga had an important role in the Christianization of the Iberian Peninsula. The first known bishop of Braga, Paternus, lived at the end of the 4th century, although Saint Ovidius (d. 135 AD) is sometimes considered one of the first bishops of this city. In the early 5th century, Paulus Orosius (a friend of Augustine of Hippo) wrote several theological works that expounded the Christian faith. Thanks to the work of Saint Martin of Braga the Suebi in Iberia renounced the Arian and Priscillianist heresies during two synods held here in the 6th century. At the time, Martin also founded an important monastery in Dumio (Dume), and it was in Braga that the Archbishopric of Braga held their councils. As a consequence, the archbishops of Braga later claimed the title of Primate of Portugal, then a county, and for a long period, claimed supremacy over the entire Hispanic church. Yet, their authority was never accepted throughout Hispania.
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