Stock Photo - Braganca Castle, Braganca, Portugal, 2009. The origins of the town of Braganca go back to a series of fortified structures that were changed in the time of King Dom Afonso I into a proper walled citadel by his brother-in-law Fernao Mendes. Completed in around 1130 the place was named Brigantia and within its walls in 1187 Dom Sancho I built the castle that still remains. The fortified nucleus of Braganca was built in the 12th century and was the property of the Benedictine monks of the Castro de Avela Monastery. The fortress was rebuilt and reinforced by late 14th century, with the keep built in the 15th century.