Monuments

The first cathedral built in the 21st century. 

Dedicated to Our Lady the Queen, the current Bragança Cathedral was designed by the architect Vassalo Rosa, being the first Portuguese cathedral to be built in the 21st century. It came to replace the old Cathedral, built during the 16th century, encouraged by the municipality and with the support of Duke D. Teodósio, which initially was intended to be a convent for the Poor Clares (of the order of Saint Clare) and was occupied between 1562 and 1759 by the Society of Jesus, who had established a College therein. In 1764, when the seat of the bishopric was transferred from Miranda to Bragança, the church underwent expansion works and was promoted to the main Cathedral. 

However, as early as 1768 the local bishop, D. Frei Aleixo, sent a letter to the Marquis of Pombal, Secretary of State and Minister of the Kingdom, informing them of his will to build a new church. Since that date, and due to a succession of setbacks, his desire has been successively postponed. It was only in the middle of the 20th century that the conditions for the launching of a competition were met, and the project of the architects Luís Vassalo Rosa and Francisco Figueira was chosen. However, the building of the cathedral only started to take shape in 1982, with the laying of the first stone, but the official start of the works occurred six years later, after a further series of delays due to the configuration and structure of the project. 

Inaugurated on October 7, 2001, the Church of Our Lady the Queen or New Cathedral now occupies a total area of ​​10,000sqm, where the seats are distributed in amphitheatre and the surrounding area has a pentagonal design, which distinguishes it and gives it a characteristically contemporary appearance. The entire building reflects the surrounding region, from the building materials to the vegetation planted in the gardens, and even to the positioning of the doors. 

Inside, the tabernacle takes the geographical form of the Bragança district, and behind the main altar, the physiognomic features in the expression of the Christ drawn in the ceramic panel of Mário Silva face north-east.