Last modified: 2006-02-18 by antonio martins
Keywords: miranda do douro | miranda de l douro | coat of arms | castle (red) | crescent: points down (red) |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
This is the municipal flag of the leonese speaking municipality of Miranda do
Douro / Miranda de l Douro, Portugal. Flag: red over white gyronny, with
coat of arms in the center. Arms: or, a castle red, open and litten in argent,
under a crescent poiting downwards; mural crown argent, with five visible towers
(city rank); white scroll at the bottom reading in
black uppercase sans serif "CIDADE DE MIRANDA DO DOURO".
António Martins, 26 May 1998
Miranda do Douro constitute a linguistic minority within Portugal: they
speak a dialect (Mirandese — mirandés) of the Leonese or Asturo-Leonese
language, spoken also (but not official) in the spanish communities of
Castilla-León (León province) and
Asturias. Mirandese has recently [1999] become
official in the geographic area where it is spoken, and is tought in local
schools.
Jorge Candeias, 04 Feb 2003
Though the language is spoken widely throughout the municipality
and beyond (villages Vilar Seco, Angueira and Caçarelhos,
Vimioso Municipality, which once belonged to
the Miranda do Douro.), in the city itself it is not used, nor have been
in recent centuries. This is due to the fact that the city grown always
around military and religious focuses implanted by the (portuguese-speaking)
central authority and was inhabited mainly by non-locals. (Curiously, this
may be changing now, due to the growing prestige of mirandese.)
António Martins, 10 Feb 2003
