Beira (Portugal)

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Portugal's traditional provinces

Beira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɐjɾɐ]) was one of the six traditional provinces or "comarcas" of Portugal.

The territorial extension is different from that of the area called "The Beiras", which refers to three provinces of 1936, which also include area from Estremadura Province.

There is also a wine region, called Beira VR.

[edit] Administrative history

Since the middle ages^[when?] there existed the Beira Province.

[edit] 1832

In 1832 this province was divided into

[edit] 1936

In 1936 these were divided among three provinces, one of which contained area that was not included in Beira Province:

Beira Alta Province - "natural" regions of Beira Alta and Beira Transmontana
Beira Baixa Province,
Beira Litoral Province - in the south containing parts of medieval Estremadura Province

Sometimes collectively referred to as "the Beiras".

Some Portuguese geographers referred to the part of Trás-os-Montes that lies south of the Douro River as "Beira Transmontana", but that name was never used officially.

[edit] 1976

In 1976 the provinces were abolished leaving only the 1835 districts.

Beira Alta Province:
- Guarda District
- Viseu District
Beira Baixa Province:
- Coimbra District
- Castelo Branco District
Beira Litoral Province:

1976 postal code areas divide the area in

[edit] 1998

Law 19/98 which was proposed in 1998 divided the area into

Beira Litoral
Beira Interior

[edit] ???

The current Centro Region of Portugal covers roughly the same area, Oeste Subregion being the mayor exception. Among its twelve subregions three contain the name "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.