View source for Entre Douro e Minho

[[Image:Entre Douro e Minho.jpg|thumb|200px|Map of Entre Douro e Minho from 1846]]
[[File:antigas Provincias Portugal.png|thumb|150px|Medieval six provinces]]
'''Entre Douro e Minho''' ({{IPA|pt|ˈẽtɾɨ ˈðoɾu i ˈmiɲu}}) is one of the [[historical provinces of Portugal]] which encompassed the country's northern [[Atlantic]] [[Coast|seaboard]] between the [[Douro (river)|Douro]] and [[Minho River|Minho]] rivers. Contemporaries often referred to the province as simply "Minho". It was one of six provinces Portugal was commonly divided into from the [[early modern period]] until 1936, although these provinces were not recognized as official units of government.
== Geography ==
The coastline of Entre Minho e Douro is level and unbroken except by the estuaries of the main rivers; inland, the elevation gradually increases towards the north and east, where several mountain ranges mark the frontier. Of these, the most important are the Serra da Peneda ({{convert|4728|ft|m|disp=comma}}), between the rivers Minho and [[Lima river|Lima]]; the [[Peneda-Gerês National Park|Serra do Gerez]] ({{convert|4357|ft|m|disp=comma}}), on the [[Galicia (Spain)|Galician]] border; the Serra da Cabreira ({{convert|4021|ft|m|disp=comma}}), immediately to the south; and the [[Serra do Marão]] ({{convert|4642|ft|m|disp=comma}}), in the extreme south-east.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Entre Minho e Douro|volume=9|page=660}}</ref>
As its name implies, the province is bounded by two rivers, the Douro on the south, and the Minho, or Miño, on the north. [http://www.gracegalleries.com/images/S&P/S&P110.jpg Some old maps] show areas south of the Douro River belonging to the old Entre-Douro-e-Minho territory, while [http://www.bergbook.com/images/19146-01.jpg other old maps] make the province exactly match the current [[Viana do Castelo District]], [[Braga District]] and [[Porto District]].
Nevertheless, if the name Entre-Douro-e-Minho ("''Between-Douro-and-Minho''") was strictly taken in account, the latter definition would make sense.
There are three other large rivers which, like the Minho, flow west-south-west into the Atlantic. The Lima or Antela (Spanish Limia) rises in Galicia, and reaches the sea at [[Viana do Castelo]]; the [[Cávado River|Cávado]] springs from the southern foothills of La Raya Seca, on the northern frontier of [[Trás-os-Montes (region)|Trás-os-Montes]], and forms, at its mouth, the small harbour of [[Esposende]]; and the [[Ave River|Ave]] descends from its sources in the Serra da Cabreira to [[Vila do Conde]], where it enters the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. A large right-hand tributary of the Douro, the [[Tâmega (river)|Tâmega]], rises in Galicia, and skirts the western slopes of the Serra de Marão.<ref name="EB1911"/>
== History ==
The separated municipalities of [[Vila Nova de Gaia|Gaia]] and [[Vila Nova de Gaia|Vila Nova]] were integrated in the administration of [[Porto]] city between 1383 and 1518.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cm-gaia.pt/gaia/portal/user/anon/page/_CMG_0000.psml?categoryOID=B382808080F380GC&contentid=4C81809780CO&nl=pt |title=History of Vila Nova de Gaia |access-date=2009-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021215944/http://www.cm-gaia.pt/gaia/portal/user/anon/page/_CMG_0000.psml?categoryOID=B382808080F380GC&contentid=4C81809780CO&nl=pt |archive-date=2008-10-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1936, when Portugal was divided into [[provinces of Portugal|13 official provinces]], Entre Douro e Minho was split into  [[Minho Province]] and [[Douro Litoral Province]].
This reform would make [[Minho Province]] corresponding exactly to modern [[Viana do Castelo District]] and [[Braga District]]. Minho's provincial chieftaincy was attributed to the city of [[Braga]].
On the other hand, [[Douro Litoral]] corresponded to modern [[Porto District]] plus four [[Municipalities of Portugal|municipalities]] of [[Aveiro District]], and two of [[Viseu District]] to the then new [[Douro Litoral Province]]. Douro Litoral chieftaincy was attributed to the city of [[Porto]].
Being seen as a trace of Estado Novo policies, the territorial definitions of 1936, though having innocuous and non-political characters, were erased in 1976 soon after the [[Carnation Revolution]]. Nevertheless, people still use the designations of 1936 on a daily basis because they more or less accurately correspond to the historical identity of the locals e.g.: "Minhotos", "Durienses", "Beirões", "Ribatejanos", etc., and many books and maps still show them.
== Cities before 1936 ==
*[[Porto]] (Immemorial city)
*[[Braga]] (Immemorial city)
*[[Penafiel, Portugal|Penafiel]] (city since 1770)
*[[Viana do Castelo Municipality|Viana do Castelo]] (1848)
*[[Guimarães]] (1853)
*[[Barcelos, Portugal|Barcelos]] (1928)
== See also ==
*[[Costa Verde (Portugal)]]
*[[Douro]]
*[[Norte Region, Portugal|Norte Region]]
*[[Kingdom of Northern Lusitania]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{statoids|id=upt|title=Regions of Portugal}}
*[[:pt:Entre Douro e Minho|Entre Douro e Minho]] from the Portuguese-language Wikipedia. Retrieved January 11, 2006.
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{{Coord missing|Portugal}}
[[Category:Former provinces of Portugal]]
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