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Beira (European Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈbɐjɾɐ]) was one of the sixtraditional provinces orcomarcas ofPortugal.
The territorial extension is different from that of the area calledthe Beiras, which refers to three provinces of 1936,Beira Alta,Beira Baixa andBeira Litoral.
The most important cities within the borders of the traditional province are:Coimbra,Aveiro,Leiria,Viseu,Castelo Branco,Guarda,Figueira da Foz,Covilhã andPinhel.
The main river is theMondego; other rivers include theVouga,Dão,Côa,Zêzere andPaiva. The largest mountain range isSerra da Estrela – Continental Portugal's highest – other ranges being theCaramulo,Marofa,Gardunha, andBussaco.
After the 15th Century, the new Kingdom of Portugal was divided into six great administrative units, referred to ascomarcas. Since the Middle Ages[when?] there existed theBeira Province.
In 1832 this province was divided into
In 1936 these were divided among three provinces, one of which contained area that was not included in Beira Province:
Sometimes collectively referred to asthe Beiras.
In 1976 the provinces were abolished leaving only the 18districts.
1976 postal code areas divide the region in
Law 19/98 of 1998 divided the area into
The currentCentro Region ofPortugal covers roughly the same area.Oeste Subregion, part ofEstremadura, is the major exception. Among its twelve subregions three contain the name "Beira":
The name also is contained in the name of many small towns and villages in the area, e.g.Moimenta da Beira,Celorico da Beira,Aguiar da Beira,Mondim da Beira etc.
