Description Melgaço

Booking.com

Located in the Extreme Northwest of the Country, in the Alto Minho, Melgaço is a beautiful village and is the seat of the northernmost county of Portugal. It is situated in a very mountainous region and is bathed by the Minho River, which from early on has shaped the lifestyle of the people, who have a close connection with it.

The small and quiet village of Melgaço grew around a fortress built by D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal (1139-85).
The castle, now a national monument, has an imposing keep and dominates the labyrinth of old streets and crossroads that intersect inside the walls

The human occupation of the region is very old, with several megalithic monuments being found by the municipality, whose most significant example is in Castro Laboreiro, where marks of the primitive peoples who lived here during different times were discovered.

The municipality is limited to the North and East by Spain to the southwest by the Municipality of Arcos de Valdevez and the West by Monção

The majority of the people have a strong connection to local products and hence their subsistence, and the "Alvarinho" Vinho Verde belongs to the region. Of the Handicrafts, we highlight the weaving in Lino, the weaving in Wool (blankets and carpets), the agricultural implements and the baskets are some of the articles that are part of the secular history of the county.

The embroideries on cloths, towels, corridors are diversified and confectioned on old linen and the motifs that apply, in the same tone or colors, represent real-crowned and popular motifs.

The famous costumes typical of this county, one of them, dresses the traditional female figure of the hill village of Castro Laboreiro - the Castreja -, symbolizing, in their black robes, mourning, longing, respect, and still today it is used.

Another characteristic costume is the "Inês Negra", legendary and historical figure of Melgaço, that gave name to the toponymy of the old town and that boldly took the strong place of Melgaço to the Castilians, fighting hand to hand with the traidora to the Portuguese homeland, known by "Arrenegada."

Outro traje característico é o da "Inês Negra", figura lendária e histórica de Melgaço, que deu nome à toponímia da antiga vila e que corajosamente tomou a praça forte de Melgaço aos castelhanos, lutando corpo a corpo com a traidora à pátria portuguesa, conhecida por "arrenegada".