Museu do Abade de Baçal

In the former bishop’s palace beside the castle of Bragança, the Museu do Abade de Baçal holds the artistic and archaeological heritage of Portugal’s north-eastern corner. Its rooms, arranged around a granite courtyard, bring together painting, sculpture, goldsmithery, furniture and textiles from a region long shaped by its frontier position.

From regional museum to Abade de Baçal

The museum was created in 1915 as the regional museum of Bragança and was renamed in 1935 in honour of the Abade de Baçal, the priest, archaeologist and historian who directed it. Its collections include the legacy of the writer Guerra Junqueiro, with furniture and paintings, and objects gathered from churches and convents across the region.

What to see

• Archaeology from the Bragança region.
• Painting and drawing, sculpture, furniture and goldsmithery.
• Textiles and objects of regional ethnography.
• Temporary exhibitions drawing on the museum’s collections and on other Portuguese museums.

Visiting the museum

The museum is in the historic centre of Bragança, next to the cathedral and the castle. Opening hours are published on the official website, so check before your visit.

Visitor information: mabadebacal.gov.pt.

Image credit: Museu do Abade de Baçal, Bragança, by Rui Carita, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.