Montalegre (), officially the Town of Montalegre (), is a municipality in northern Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real, along the border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 10,537, in an area of 805.46 km².
History
thumb|235px|left|Castle of Montalegre
Early construction in Montalegre date back 3500–4000 years when early inhabitants, around the villages of Mourela, Veiga and Vila da Ponte, buried their dead in funeral mounds. Vestiges of this culture predominate the region, and suggest that settlements have been ongoing since the Metal Ages.
After the Portuguese Interregnum, during the reign of John I, the Terras de Barroso were offered as a gift to Nuno Álvares Pereira for his support.
Human geography
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 27 civil parishes that administer local area government and support the local populations:
- Cabril
- Cambeses do Rio, Donões e Mourilhe
- Cervos
- Chã
- Covelo do Gerês
- Ferral
- Frades do Rio
- Gralhas
- Meixedo e Padornelos
- Montalegre e Padroso
- Morgade
- Negrões
- Outeiro
- Paradela, Contim e Fiães
- Peireses
- Pitões das Júnias
- Reigoso
- Salto
- Santo André
- Sarraquinhos
- Sezelhe e Covelães
- Solveira
- Tourém
- Venda Nova e Pondras
- Viade de Baixo e Fervidelas
- Vila da Ponte
- Vilar de Perdizes e Meixide
Notable people
- Delfim Modesto Brandão (1835–??) the penultimate "Juiz" (head of state) of the micro-state of Couto Misto which lasted 4 years from 1864.
- Bento António Gonçalves (1902–1942) the second Secretary General of the Portuguese Communist Party.
- Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, first European to reach California
- Maria Eugénia Neto (b. 1934), First Lady of Angola
See also
- Montalegre Castle
- Couto Misto