no church, no chapel, just two communal ovens
The peculiarity of Martim Branco is immediately obvious: there are no religious buildings whatsoever. No church, no chapel -- very rare in rural Portugal. What remains instead are two communal wood-fired ovens still in use, where the bread dough is still blessed before baking. Arrive late morning and you'll catch the smell.
The village sits on the banks of the Ribeira de Almaceda, in the municipality of Castelo Branco but 26 km from the city, at the end of a 2 km detour off the EN112. It has around 27 residents (2011 Census), making it one of the smallest villages in the network. It runs along two parallel longitudinal streets: the Rua Principal up top and the Rua da Bica below, parallel to the stream, more primitive. The houses use slate and rammed earth, some with granite marking the door and window frames.
The Casa das Artes e Ofícios occupies a restored old house and shows what used to happen here: linen cultivation, loom use, restoration of the stream's mills. For those who want to take their time exploring, trail PR2 CTB starts in the village and follows the Ribeira de Almaceda for 9.5 easy kilometres past weirs, mill races and water mills. The rest is tasting the bread and listening to the stream. If you prefer the opposite in the same municipality, Sarzedas was a town with its own county.
good to know
- very rare in rural portugal: village with no religious buildings whatsoever (no church, no chapel)
- two communal wood-fired ovens in use, where bread dough is still blessed before baking
- around 27 residents (2011 census), one of the smallest villages in the network
- casa das artes e ofícios revives linen culture, loom weaving and mill restoration; adx shop on site
- trail pr2 ctb starts in the village: 9.5 easy km along the ribeira de almaceda, with weirs, mill races and water mills
