Braga Public Library

The Braga Public Library was founded in 1841 by Queen Maria II to protect the bookstores of the disappeared convents in the region, such as Falperra, Tibães and Congregados.

The library was originally located there. The collection was expanded with the legal deposit and since 1931 has included a copy of the publications published in Portugal. At the same time, the museum welcomed collections from local personalities and institutions, such as Manuel Monteiro, Carrington da Costa, Victor de Sá, Manuel de Oliveira and the Minhoto Institute of Regional Studies, to name but a few.

The BPB has been housed in the Baroque wing of the Largo do Paço complex, in Praça do Município, since 1934 and was integrated into the UMinho in 1975.

It houses a collection of over 500,000 documents, including a collection of 53 incunabula (from the early days of the press) and at least 400 volumes from the 16th century.

Willem Vandenameele