Beira Alta is a historic province (or natural region) located in the Centro
region of Portugal. It was created, in 1832, by subdivision of the former
province of Beira, becoming constituted by the counties of Viseu, Lamego and
Trancoso. The province had a representative of the central government - the
mayor - and a locally elected body - the provincial general board. In
regions that were not provincial capitals, there were sub-prefects, who
represented the mayor. Its capital is Viseu.
By the administrative
reform of 1835, the country was divided into districts. The Province of
Beira Alta remained, but only as a statistical and regional reference unit.
Its boundaries corresponded to those of the district of Viseu.
The
Province of Beira Alta was restored, as an administrative unit, in 1936, now
including, in addition to the district of Viseu, the district of Guarda.
This new division into provinces was based on a geographic study that
divided mainland Portugal into 13 "natural regions", including Beira Alta
and Beira Transmontana. The new province of Beira Alta was created by the
union of those two natural regions, although for most geographers, including
Orlando Ribeiro, this artificial union was a crass error. The reaction of
the populations of Beira Transmontana (which encompassed the entire district
of Guarda except the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa) did not wait, and
they even produced and sent a petition with more than 50 thousand
signatures, in full State Novo, to António Oliveira Salazar himself,
claiming the creation of a province other than Beira Alta, which they called
Beira Serra.
The 1936 provinces practically never had any practical
attribution, and disappeared from the administrative vocabulary (but not
from the daily vocabulary of the Portuguese) with the entry into force of
the 1976 Constitution. It is currently one of the 11 historic provinces of
Portugal.
It was bordered to the north by Trás-os-Montes and Alto
Douro, to the northwest by the Douro Litoral, to the west and southwest by
Beira Litoral, to the south by Beira Baixa and to the east by Spain
(province of Salamanca, in Castile-Leon ).
It was then made up of 33
municipalities, comprising almost all of the districts of Guarda and Viseu,
plus the municipalities of Oliveira do Hospital and Tábua, in the district
of Coimbra:
District of Guarda: Aguiar da Beira, Almeida, Celorico da
Beira, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Fornos de Algodres, Gouveia, Guarda,
Manteigas, Mêda, Pinhel, Sabugal, Seia, Trancoso.
District of Viseu:
Carregal do Sal, Castro Daire, Mangualde, Moimenta da Beira, Mortágua,
Nelas, Oliveira de Frades, Penalva do Castelo, Penedono, Santa Comba Dão,
São Pedro do Sul, Sátão, Sernancelhe, Tarouca, Tondela, Vila Nova from
Paiva, Viseu, Vouzela.
Currently, its territory is divided into the
North and Center regions, the first part of the Douro sub-region
(municipalities of Moimenta da Beira, Penedono, Sernancelhe and Tarouca),
and the second part of all the sub-regions of the Beiras and Serra da
Estrela (formerly Beira Interior Norte), Viseu Dão-Lafões, as well as a
small part of the CIM Coimbra Region, once subdivided into the Pinhal
Interior Norte region, (the municipality of Mortágua, belonging to the
district of Viseu and the municipalities of Tábua and Oliveira do Hospital,
belonging to the district of Coimbra).
Barcos
Guarda
Mêda
Oliveira do Hospital
Pinhel
Rendo
Sabugal
Seia
São Pedro do Sul
Trancoso
Vila Franca das Naves
Viseu
It is bordered to the north by Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, to the northwest by the Douro Litoral, to the west and southwest by the Beira Litoral, to the south by the Beira Baixa and to the east by Spain (province of Salamanca, in Castile and León). It also has a small border with the province of Cáceres (Extremadura), in the south of the municipality of Sabugal, in the extreme southeast of the district of Guarda.
It was constituted by 33 municipalities, integrating
almost all of the districts of Guarda and Viseu and two municipalities
of the Levante of the district of Coimbra.
District of Coimbra (2
of the 17 municipalities): Oliveira do Hospital and Tábua.
Guarda
District (13 of the 14 municipalities): Aguiar da Beira, Almeida,
Celorico da Beira, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Fornos de Algodres,
Gouveia, Guarda, Manteigas, Mêda, Pinhel, Sabugal, Seia and Trancoso.
Viseu District (18 of the 24 municipalities): Carregal do Sal, Castro
Daire, Mangualde, Moimenta da Beira, Mortágua, Nelas, Oliveira de
Frades, Penalva do Castelo, Penedono, Santa Comba Dão, São Pedro do Sul,
Sátão, Sernancelhe, Tarouca, Tondela, Vila Nova de Paiva, Viseu and
Vouzela.
For some geographers, this province, together with the Beira
Baixa, and sometimes even with the inclusion of the Beira Transmontana,
form a greater geographical unit: the Beira Interior.
Currently, its territory is divided into the Northern and Central statistical regions, the Douro statistical subregion belonging to the former (municipalities of Moimenta da Beira, Penedono, Sernancelhe and Tarouca), and to the latter all the statistical subregions of the Northern Interior Beira, the Cova da Beira, the Dão-Lafões as well as a small part of the Northern Interior Pinhal (because the two municipalities of the Coimbra district belonging to the Upper Beira cover their territory).