about the place
Barrancos is a municipality in the District of Beja, in Lower Alentejo, nestled against the border with Spain. It borders to the north and east with Oliva de la Frontera and Valencia del Mombuey (province of Badajoz) and with Encinasola (province of Huelva), and to the south and west with Moura and Mourão. It covers 168.42 km² and has around 1,430 inhabitants, spread across a single parish: it is the least populated municipality on the Portuguese mainland.
The territory has been occupied since the Chalcolithic period and was reconquered from the Moors in 1167. The ancient seat was the village of Noudar, within the fortress of the same name, which received a royal charter from King Dinis in 1295. From 1825 onwards, Noudar gradually became depopulated and the seat moved to the present-day village of Barrancos.
Proximity to Spain shapes the character of the land: Encinasola is just 9 km away, the nearest Portuguese locality 21 km, and the Barranquenho dialect is spoken here and taught in the local school. The August Festivities, in honour of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (28 to 31 August), are among the most important in Lower Alentejo. Barrancos cured ham holds a protected designation of origin.
