The Museu do Douro, created by the Law 125/97 of December the 2nd, was conceived as a polyvalent and polynuclear territory museum, aimed at preserving, investigating and disseinating the vast museological and documentary heritage scattered throughout the region.
Its headquarters is the once known as the Casa da Companhia, the regional headquarters of the General Company of Viticulture of the Upper Douro, also known as the Douro Wine Company. Established by the Marquis of Pombal in 1756 to regulate the production and trade of the Alto Douro wines, creating the first demarcated and regulated wine region in the world.