Braga, Braga, Portugal Genealogy

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the municipality of Braga.

History

 * Braga in Latin is Bracara Augusta and is a a city and municipality in the Northwestern Portuguese district of Braga, in the historical and cultural Minho Province.
 * Braga has it's beginnings back thousands of years, starting with the Megalithic era.
 * The Castro Culture extended into the northwest during the Iron Age.
 * A Celtic tribe, Bracarenses, occupied what is now northern Portugal.
 * The conquest of the Romans began around 136 BC. Emperor Diocletianus promoted the city to status of capital in the 3rd century.
 * Germanic invasions began around 410 when the Suebi established a kingdom and made Bracara their capital.
 * In 584 the Visigothic comquerors took control of Gallaecia.
 * In the 4th and 5th centuries Christians took control with the first known bishop of Braga, Paternus.
 * The 8th century was the transition time from Visigothic regins to the Muslim conquest.
 * Under Alfonso III of Asturias in 868 the forces were repelled by Ferdinand I of León and Castile in 1040.
 * In 1093 and 1147, Braga became the residencial seat of the Portuguese court.
 * The 16th century saw changes by Archbishop Diogo de Sousa, who sponsored several urban improvements in the city, turning it into a Renaissance city.
 * The French troops invaded during the Peninsular Wars.
 * In the 20th century Braga had more periods of growth and decline, with demographic and urban pressures, urban to rural migration creating a need for infrastructures to be improved.
 * The population of Braga is roughly 181,500 people.

Online Records
After 100 years, all civil registration records are sent to the municipality's district office.

To view online civil registration records, visit Braga Civil Registration.

Contact a Civil Registration Office
The following is a list of civil registration offices within the municipality.

Conservatória do Registo Civil de Braga Av. Central 33, 1º 4710-228 Braga PORTUGAL Phone: 253617580 Email: [mailto:crc.braga@dgrn.mj.pt crc.braga@dgrn.mj.pt]

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Online Records
In 1910, the Portuguese government transferred all birth, marriage, and death records from all the country's parishes to the district offices. These records are now in either District or National archives. Many of these records have been digitized and can be viewed at the District Archive's website or on FamilySearch.

To view online records, visit Braga Church Records.

Contact a Parish
If you are seeking church records created more recently than 1910, it is possible to obtain them by writing to the parish where the record was created. Writing to a parish is not always a reliable way to obtain information, because officials may or may not respond.

Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa lists websites for the 20 Dioceses of Portugal. Once on the Diocesan website, use the listing of parishes (paróquias) to locate contact information for the parish in question.

Communicate your request in Portuguese whenever possible. For writing a letter or email in Portuguese, use the translated questions and phrases in this Portuguese Letter-writing Guide.

Cemeteries
Cemeteries did not become popular in Portugal until the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, individuals were buried in their parish church cemetery, and their bones were later removed to an unmarked burial place.

Cathedral of Braga Braga, Braga Municipality, Braga PORTUGAL Website: FindAGrave

FamilySearch Centers
Braga Portugal Family History Center Rua Luís António Correia 120 BRAGA 4715-310 PORTUGAL Email: [mailto:PT_Braga@familyhistorymail.org PT_Braga@familyhistorymail.org] Website: Braga Portugal Family History Center