history
Castelo Branco is the parish of the city of the same name, seat of the municipality and district of Castelo Branco, covering 170.26 km² and home to 34,455 inhabitants (2021). It is one of the largest parishes in the country and one of the few that is non-contiguous: in addition to the main area, which includes the city and its surroundings, it has a small exclave to the west, Taberna Seca, a settlement incorporated in 1997 from the parish of Benquerenças. The villages of Taberna Seca and Lentiscais also form part of the parish. Its heritage includes the Castelo dos Templários (Templar Castle) and the second ring of walls, the Jardim do Paço (Palace Garden) and the Museu Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior (museum), housed in the former Paço Episcopal (Bishop's Palace), the Sé Catedral (Cathedral) — Igreja de São Miguel —, the Cruzeiro de São João (wayside cross), the Convento da Graça (convent), the Convento de Santo António (convent), the Castro do Monte de São Martinho (Iron Age hillfort), the Ermida de Nossa Senhora de Mércoles (chapel), the Miradouro de São Gens (viewpoint) and the Anta da Capa Rota (megalithic tomb).
