Douro (intermunicipal community)

Map showing the location of the Douro subregion

The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the Comunidade Urbana do Douro, created in 2004.^[1] It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. Douro comprises parts of the former districts of Bragança, Guarda, Vila Real and Viseu. The population in 2011 was 205,157,^[2] in an area of 4,031.58 km².^[3]

Douro is also a NUTS3 subregion of Norte Region. The subregion Douro covers the same area as the intermunicipal community, but including the municipalities Murça (Alto Trás-os-Montes intermunicipal community), and excluding the municipality Vila Flor. As of 2011, the subregion had a population of 205,902^[2] and a total area of 4,108 km².^[3]

Its economic activity is largely centered on the production of wine, particularly port, and also non-fortified Douro wine from the Douro DOC wine region. The entire region is mountainous and crossed by steep valleys.

Map showing the location of the Douro intermunicipal community (in yellow in the north)

Municipalities

The CIM Douro is composed of 19 municipalities:^[4]

Municipality	Population (2011)^[2]	Area (km²)^[3]	NUTS III region
Murça	5,952	189.37	Alto Trás-os-Montes
Alijó	11,942	297.60	Douro
Armamar	6,297	117.24	Douro
Carrazeda de Ansiães	6,373	279.24	Douro
Freixo de Espada à Cinta	3,780	244.14	Douro
Lamego	26,691	165.42	Douro
Mesão Frio	4,433	26.65	Douro
Moimenta da Beira	10,212	219.97	Douro
Penedono	2,952	133.71	Douro
Peso da Régua	17,131	94.86	Douro
Sabrosa	6,361	156.92	Douro
Santa Marta de Penaguião	7,356	69.28	Douro
São João da Pesqueira	7,874	266.11	Douro
Sernancelhe	5,671	228.61	Douro
Tabuaço	6,350	133.86	Douro
Tarouca	8,046	100.08	Douro
Torre de Moncorvo	8,572	531.56	Douro
Vila Nova de Foz Côa	7,312	398.15	Douro
Vila Real	51,850	378.80	Douro
Total	205,157	4,031.58

Geography

The main rivers are Douro River, Corgo River, Tua River and Sabor River. There is an airport at Vila Real: Aerodromo de Vila Real/Douro [VRL]. The Douro railway line was completed in 1887. The narrow gauge branch lines in the area (such as the Corgo line) are now all closed.

The main monuments are the cathedral and Mateus Palace in Vila Real, and the Remedios and Sé/cathedral in Lamego. The Alto Douro Wine Region and the Prehistoric Rock-Art Site of the Côa Valley are both classified by UNESCO as heritage sites.

The grape vine terraces in the Douro valley

The University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro is situated in Vila Real.

References

↑ CM Vila Nova de Foz Côa
1 2 3 Instituto Nacional de Estatística
1 2 3 Direção-Geral do Território
↑ "Law nr. 75/2013" (pdf). Diário da República (in Portuguese). Assembly of the Republic (Portugal). Retrieved 18 August 2014.

External links

Official website CIM Douro

Statistical divisions of Portugal

Norte Region

Metropolitan areas	Porto

Intermunicipal communities	Alto Minho Alto Tâmega Ave Cávado Douro Tâmega e Sousa Terras de Trás-os-Montes

Centro Region

Intermunicipal communities	Beira Baixa Beiras e Serra da Estrela Médio Tejo Oeste Região de Aveiro Região de Coimbra Região de Leiria Viseu Dão Lafões

Lisboa Region

Metropolitan areas	Lisbon

Alentejo Region

Intermunicipal communities	Alentejo Litoral Alentejo Central Alto Alentejo Baixo Alentejo Lezíria do Tejo

Algarve Region

Intermunicipal communities	Algarve

Autonomous Regions

All these divisions are further subdivided into municipalities and parishes.

Coordinates: 41°18′N 7°45′W / 41.300°N 7.750°W / 41.300; -7.750

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