Cávado River in the context of "Bracara Augusta"

Braga (European Portuguese: [ˈbɾaɣɐ], also [ˈbɾagɐ] ; Proto-Celtic: *Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality had a resident population of 201,583 inhabitants (in 2023), representing the seventh largest municipality in Portugal by population. Its area is 183.40 km. Its agglomerated urban area extends to the Cávado River and is the third most populated urban area in Portugal, behind Lisbon and Porto Metropolitan Areas.

It is host to the oldest Portuguese archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Braga of the Catholic Church and it is the seat of the Primacy of the Spains. During the Roman Empire, then known as Bracara Augusta, the settlement was the capital of the Roman province of Gallaecia and would later become the capital of the Kingdom of the Suebi, one of the first territories to separate from the Roman Empire in the 5th century. Inside the city there is also a castle tower that can be visited. Nowadays, Braga is among the most noted entrepreneurial and technological centers of the country, as well as a major hub for inland Northern Portugal, and it is an important stop on the Portuguese Way path of the Road of St James. The city hosted two games of the UEFA Euro 2004 and was the European Youth Capital in 2012.

Count of Barcelos (in Portuguese Conde de Barcelos) is a title of nobility, the first to be granted in Portugal. It was created in 1298 by king Denis I and initially it was a non hereditary title, although most of the holders belonged to the Teles de Menezes family. It was only after the death of the 6th Count, when it was granted to Nuno Álvares Pereira, that the title became hereditary. The 8th Count of Barcelos was created Duke of Braganza in 1442, by his nephew king Afonso V, and his descendants rose to the Portuguese throne after the country regained its independence from Spain in 1640.

Initially, the seat of the Counts of Barcelos was the Palace of the Dukes of Barcelos, a large medieval structure that overlooks the Cávado river. After having been granted the Dukedom of Braganza, the family moved to a larger and more urbane palace in Guimarães, the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza.