Babe is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Bragança. The population in 2011 was 238, in an area of 25.62 km<sup>2</sup>.
History
A. Pereira Lopo, writing in 1898, alludes to the greatness of the Castro of Babe, which had been an important station during the Roman era. This includes many monuments located in its shadow, including altar stone dedicated to Jupiter (with the inscription "I.O.M.") and funerary stone ("A1 e EQVITIAL (ae) II") with vestiges of three figures in low relief.
The modern parish of Babe, dates to the medieval period, when it was referred to as Sancti Petride Babi, which it would continue to remain until the 13th-century Inquirições of King Afonso III.
Babe's evolution has been affected by the population emigration and aging of the community.
Geography
Situated 10.5 kilometres from the municipal seat of Bragança, Babe occupies an area accessible by the EN218, or along the EN308 from Gimonde. It is located on the southern portion of the Montesinho Natural Park (, a mountainous plateau along the border between Spain and northern Portugal. At an average altitude of 750 metres, it is crossed by the Igrejas River and many of its tributaries.
The parish is bordered by Gimonde, Palácios, Caravela, São Julião and Laviados.
Architecture
Civic
- Fountains of Babe ().
Religious
- Church of São Pedro (). From 1258, most of the town belonged to the Hospitaller Order, under the Monastery of Castro de Avelãs since 1258. Only in the 17th century was a church built, supported in subsequent years by patronage from hereditary nobles, including the Dukes of Braganza. The plain single-nave church, in the Manueline style had two side altars, one dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Rosário, the other to the Souls of Purgatory (supported by the Confraternity of Souls ();
- Chapel of São Sebastião (). The first reference to this chapel is by the rector José Alvares da Silva on 17 April 1758.
- Chapel of São José (), dating back to 1697 (from an inscription on the façade).