Editing Miranda do Douro (section)

==History==
[[File:Bishop Palace.jpg|thumb|left|Bishop Palace]]

The origin of Miranda do Douro as a populated place is still discussed by historians, but archeologist discoveries give evidence that inhabitants had been living there during the [[Bronze Age]]. Around AD 716, the Moors defeated local [[Visigoth]]ic tribes, and occupied some of the lands, calling the area ''Mir-Hândul''.<ref name="DEvans">{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9ZxUKbxh-EC&q=miranda+do+douro&pg=RA1-PA132|title=Portugal|first=David J.J.|last=Evans|publisher=Cadogan Guides/New Holland Publishers|location=Wimbledon, England|year=2004|pages=132|isbn=9781860111266}}</ref>

By the late 11th century, [[Kingdom of León|León]] possessed the region as a stepping-stone to [[County of Portugal|Portugal]].<ref name=DEvans/> The settlement of the village of Miranda developed through the initiative of King [[Denis of Portugal|Denis]], in an area that lay between the lateral slopes of the [[Douro]] and [[Fresno River]]s. It was in Miranda that the [[Treaty of Alcañices|Treaty of Alcanices]] was signed between Denis and [[Ferdinand IV of Castile]], setting the border between the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] and the [[Crown of Castile]].<ref name="CMHistoria">{{cite web|url=http://www.cm-mdouro.pt/historia/|title=O Concelho: Historia|editor=Câmara Municipal|location=Miranda do Douro, Portugal|publisher=Câmara Municipal de Miranda do Douro|language=pt|access-date=10 May 2011|year=2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20110521055028/http%3A//www.cm%2Dmdouro.pt/historia/|archive-date=21 May 2011}}</ref>

Miranda was founded on 18 December 1286, and immediately elevated to the status of ''vila'' ({{langx|en|town}}), with one of its prerequisites declaring that the administrative division would be a Crown fief.<ref name="CMHistoria" /> From that period forward, Miranda became progressively one of the most important towns that skirted the [[Trás-os-Montes Province|Trás-os-Montes]] region.<ref name="CMHistoria" />

The Castilians occupied Miranda do Douro during the late 14th century, and would remain there until they were expelled by [[John I of Portugal]].<ref name="DEvans" /> On 10 July 1545, King [[John III of Portugal|John III]] elevated ''Miranda do Douro'' to the status of city, at the same time becoming the first [[diocese]] in Trás-os-Montes (in a [[papal bull]] on 22 May 1545 by Pope Paul III, which segmented a major part of the archdiocese of Braga.<ref name="CMHistoria" /> Miranda, therefore, became the capital of the Trás-os-Montes, seat of the bishopric (that included the residence of the bishop, canons and ecclesiastical authorities), military governorship and civil centre.<ref name="CMHistoria" />

In 1762, during the [[Seven Years' War]], the army of [[Charles III of Spain]] invaded the Trás-os-Montes. During the course of his invasion, the gunpowder magazine (with over 500 barrels of powder) was hit by a cannon, destroying the four towers of the castle and many of the barrios in the vicinity.<ref name=DEvans/><ref name=CMHistoria/> Approximately a third of the city's population (about 400 residents) were killed, resulting in the ruin of the religious, demographic and urbanized portion of Miranda.<ref name=DEvans/><ref name=CMHistoria/> It was almost two years later (1764) that [[friar]] Aleixo Miranda Henriques (then the twenty-third bishop) would abandon Miranda, moving to [[Bragança Municipality|Bragança]], which had become a rival episcopal seat in the northeast part of Portugal.<ref name=CMHistoria/> By 1680, it was the only ecclesiastical seat in the region.

[[File:Parque Urbano do Rio Fresno - Miranda do Douro - Portugal (4324877456) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Urban park.]]

The area was served by a narrow gauge railway, the [[Sabor line]] ''(Linha do Sabor)'', which ran over 100&nbsp;km between Duas Igrejas-Miranda and the southern terminus at [[Pocinho]], where connections could be made to the main line to [[Porto]]. The Sabor line closed in 1988.