Discover Coelhoso

The EN 217 road connects Coelhoso with Bragança. The village is shaped by its cultural landmarks, the mining history of the Minas da Ribeira and the PR5 walking route. This gives you a choice of experiences for your trip, from local history to the relationship between mining and the rural landscape. When looking for a hotel, you can consider whether you would prefer to focus on architectural and cultural history or put mining and the route more at the heart of your visit.

Cultural Landmarks and Local History

The Berrão de Coelhoso is a roughly carved granite figure in the shape of an animal, located in a central square in the village. Its combination of granite, workmanship and animal form gives the sculpture a distinctive character. The present-day Igreja de São Tiago was rebuilt in the village centre in the last quarter of the 18th century. The Capela de Santo António is also considered a heritage asset of interest in Coelhoso. The figure, church and chapel illustrate different forms of cultural heritage: a stone sculpture and religious buildings with their own local histories.

The Fonte dos Milagres is a small stone structure. Shepherds have long brought their animals there to be ritually blessed in ceremonies. This tradition connects the structure with shepherds’ lives and religious practices, extending the picture of cultural heritage beyond churches and sculptures. Archaeological traces include the fortified settlement of Castrilhão de Coelhoso, the settlement site of Crasto de Coelhoso and the Estelas de Coelhoso stele. The sites already differ in form: a fortified settlement, a settlement site and a stele. In this way, archaeological landmarks complement the buildings and the traditional shepherding practice.

Mining History at the Ribeira

The Minas da Ribeira have a mining history spanning around 150 years. During the Second World War, around 2,000 people worked there mining tungsten. The approximate number of workers gives a tangible sense of a particular period within the longer mining history. The two figures answer different questions: one describes the time span, while the other indicates the scale of work during the war.

The history of the work also includes the Ponte do Mineiro, which crosses the Sabor outside Coelhoso. Miners used it to cross the river on their way to work at the Minas da Ribeira in Coelhoso. This makes the mining history understandable through the journey to work and the river crossing, not just through tungsten extraction.

The PR5 Route and the Landscape

The PR5 route – Por trilhos das Minas da Ribeira – offers views of the mountain where the Capela de Santa Bárbara, the patron saint of miners, stands. On the return journey to Coelhoso, it follows rural paths through farmland. The route thus connects the mining history with views of the chapel’s mountain and a walk through an agricultural landscape. If you would like to focus more on the landscape during your trip, this combination of views and rural paths offers a distinct experience alongside the village’s cultural landmarks.

Discover more destinations: Mós, Bragança, Salsas, Carrazedo, Baçal, Maçãs, PALAÇOULO, Gondesende.

Back to the main travel overview: Bragança.