Vila Real (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ʁiˈal] ^ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality covers an area of 378.80 square kilometres (146.26 sq mi)^[1] and is home to an estimated population of 49,574 (2021),^[2] of which about 30,000 live in the urban area (2021).^[3]

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Vila Real
Municipality
From top left to right: Corgo River near Codessais, Carvalho Araújo Statue, Mateus Palace, St. Peter's Church, Quintela Tower and St. Paul's Church (Capela Nova).
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 41°17′45″N 07°44′46″W
Country	Portugal
Region	Norte
Intermunic. comm.	Douro
District	Vila Real
Established	1289 (city: 1925)
Government
• President	Rui Santos (PS)
Area
• Total	378.80 km2 (146.26 sq mi)
Elevation	450 m (1,480 ft)
Population  (2021)
• Total	49,574
• Density	130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (WEST)
Postal code	5000
Area code	259
Website	https://www.cm-vilareal.pt/

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The city is located in a plateau 450 m (1,510 ft) high,^[4] over the promontory formed by the gorges of the Corgo and Cabril rivers, where the oldest part of town (Vila Velha) is located, framed by the escarpments of the Corgo gorge. The Alvão and Marão mountains overlook the town on the northwest and southwest side, respectively, rising up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft). With over seven hundred years of existence, the city was once known as the "royal court of Trás-os-Montes" due to the high number of manors bearing coats of arms and family crests, attesting the presence of noble figures that established in the city by influence of the Marquis of Vila Real, the most powerful aristocratic house in Portugal, during the 16th and 17th centuries, after the Dukes of Braganza and the Dukes of Aveiro. Many of these family crests are still visible today in the manors spread throughout the old city and in the Carreira Garden.^[5]

Vila Real was ranked seventh in the list of Portugal's most livable cities in the survey of living conditions published by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso in 2007.^[6]

The region shows traces of inhabitation during the paleolithic era, while the settlement of Panóias and the Panóias Sanctuary had a Roman presence. However, with the barbaric and Muslim invasions there was a gradual depopulation.

At the end of the 11th century, in 1096, Henry, Count of Portugal wrote a foral, a royal document whose purpose was to establish and regulate a town, establishing Constantim de Panóias as a way to repopulate the region. In 1272, as a new incentive to repopulation, King Afonso III of Portugal wrote another unsuccessful foral to establish Vila Real de Panóias. Only in 1289, the third foral written by King Denis of Portugal was successful in establishing Vila Real de Panóias, whose name, meaning Royal Town, is a testimony to its origin by royal decree.

Vila Real's privileged location at the crossroad between the Porto-Bragança and Viseu-Chaves roads allowed for a sustained growth over the centuries. Starting from the 17th century, the House of Vila Real attracted the nobility to an extent that during that time the city housed more members of the royal family than any other settlement in Portugal except the capital in Lisbon, and family coats of arms remain above old houses and manors, some of which are still occupied by those families. Vineyards were introduced to the municipality in 1764, growing red, white and rosé wines for export. Despite its royal presence, Vila Real remained with the status of town until the increase in population in the 19th century, which led to it gaining the status of capital of the Vila Real District and the historic province of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vila Real was created in 1922 from the dioceses of Bragança-Miranda, Braga and Lamego and Vila Real finally gained city status under the Portuguese Republic in 1925.^[7]

It was the fourth Portuguese city to have public supply of electricity, but it was the first to produce hydroelectric power, from 1894 to 1926 in the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Biel, located near the Corgo River, named after Karl Emil Biel.^[8]

The city experienced a great development with the establishment of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro in 1986, succeeding the Polytechnic Institute of Vila Real created in 1973, contributing to an increase and revitalization of the population. In 2017 there were 6 651 students enrolled in higher education.^[9]

In the last couple of years, several cultural facilities were built, such as the Vila Real Theater, the Vila Velha Museum, the Sound and Image Museum, the Regional Conservatory of Music and the transfer of the Dr. Júlio Teixeira Public Library and Municipal Archive to new buildings, bringing some dynamism and progress to the city. Various areas of the city have also been rehabilitated, such as the Centro Histórico, the Vila Velha and traditional typical neighbourhoods like Bairro dos Ferreiros and Bairro S. Vicente de Paulo. The area surrounding the Corgo River has also been rehabilitated, becoming the Corgo Park, the Forest Park and the Codessais Recreational Complex, including cultural components as the Vila Real Science Center and the Urban Ecology Agency.

Nowadays the city experiences a phase of growing industrial and commercial development, aimed at health, education and tourism, presenting itself as an attractive place for foreign investment, being internationally known by the Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, the street circuit used for the FIA WTCR Race of Portugal, one of the events of the World Touring Car Cup.^[10]

The coat of arms of Vila Real - a sword embedded in a wreath of zambujeiro (wild olive tree) and the slogan Aleu - is derived from the decorative motif of the tomb of Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real, found in the Igreja da Graça in Santarém. 'Aleu' or 'aleo' is an old Portuguese term for a 'gaming stick' (as used in hockey or shuffleboard). It refers to a famous episode concerning Pedro de Menezes from shortly after the Conquest of Ceuta on September 2, 1415 (commemorated on Ceuta Day). Pedro de Menezes was engaged in an outdoor game in the king's presence when a messenger arrived reporting an imminent Moroccan attack on Portuguese-held Ceuta. Menezes is said to have raised his gaming stick (aleo) and told the king that "with that stick alone" he could defend Ceuta from all the power of Morocco.^[11] Similar design can be seen on the coat of arms of Alcoutim, where Pedro's descendants were made Count's of Alcoutim.

(Observation: Number of resident inhabitants, that is, that had their official residency in Vila Real at the time of the census.)

(Observation: From 1900 to 1950 the data refers to the de facto population, that was present in Vila Real at the time of the census.)

Vila Real has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb/Csa) with warm to hot dry summers and cool wet winters.

Located in a promontory formed by the gorges of the Corgo and Cabril rivers, Vila Real sits at 460 m (1,510 ft) altitude. The Alvão and Marão mountains overlook the town on the northwest and southwest side, respectively, rising up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft).

Due to the geographical location, its climate is a mix between Mediterranean and oceanic, with some continental influences. Winters are long, with negative temperatures and frequent frosts. Snowfall usually occurs once or twice each year.^[14]

Vila Real's municipality consists of 20 freguesias or civil parishes, which are not all coexistent with the ecclesiastical parishes or paróquias. The civil parish Vila Real (Nossa Senhora da Conceição, São Pedro e São Dinis) is officially the city of Vila Real.

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 20 civil parishes (freguesias):^[16]

• Capela da Misericórdia
• Capela de São Brás e o túmulo de Teixeira de Macedo
• Capela do Espírito Santo ou Capela do Bom Jesus do Hospital
• Diogo Cão's house
• Carvalho Araújo's house
• Brocas' house
• Marqueses's house de Vila Real
• Cathedral of Vila Real
• St. Peter's church
• Bom Jesus do Calvário church
• Clérigos's church or "Capela Nova"
• Pelourinho de Vila Real

Vila Real is twinned with:^[18]

• Diogo Cão (ca.1452-ca.1486) an explorer and a notable navigator of the Age of Discovery.^[19]
• Luís Vaz Pereira Pinto Guedes (1770-1841) a brigadier on the absolutist side in Portugal's Liberal Wars & 2nd Viscount of Montalegre.
• António Lopes Mendes (1835–1894) an explorer and agronomist in Brazil and India & an illustrator and cartographer.
• Gen. José Augusto Alves Roçadas (1865–1926) colonial governor in Angola and Macau
• Carvalho Araújo (1881–1918) a Portuguese Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician.
• Luísa Dacosta (1927-2015) a prize-winning Portuguese writer.
• Francisco Seixas da Costa (born 1948) a retired Portuguese diplomat.

• Quintela Tower
• Agarez Waterfall
• Typical Houses
• Corgo River and Metallic Bridge in Vila Real
• Panóias Sanctuary
• Diogo Cão House
• Public Library
• Theatre
• Shopping Centre
• Shopping Centre (interior)