Miranda do Douro

Miranda stands above the Douro gorge on Portugal's frontier with Castile. Founded as a royal town by King Denis in 1286, it became an important stronghold in Trás-os-Montes. John III raised it to city and episcopal status in 1545, giving the region a bishop's seat of its own. In 1762 a Spanish army invaded during the Seven Years' War. A shot struck the castle's powder magazine, and the explosion destroyed its towers and much of the surrounding town, killing many inhabitants. The bishop subsequently moved to Bragança, leaving Miranda to recover from a disaster that had struck its people and institutions alike.