The Castle of Guimarães

Let's continue talking about new places in the north of Portugal. This time, we are going towards the small city of Guimarães known mostly for having a small, but well-conserved historical centre, as well as two important monuments: The Duke of Bragança's Palace and the Castle of Guimarães.

How to arrive

With the exception of the Monte da Penha, of which I intend to speak about in another article, you can walk to any other place in Guimarães very easily. The city is not too big and therefore, if you go by car you will not have any problem parking.

For those people without cars, the best way to get to Guimarães would be the with the urban train, each ticket will cost 3. 10 euros.

In terms of the castle, it can be found 5 minutes from the historical centre, next to the Duke's Palace, so it would be very odd if you didn't see it.

source

A bit of history...

The origins of the Castle of Guimarães remain in the 10th century, being the place where a monastery was built for the Countess Mumadona Dias of Portugal in her garden of Vimaranes (the actual Guimarães). As there were constant attacks from the Muslims and Normans, it was necessary to construct a fortress to protect the monks and the rest of the Christian community that lived nearby, and so the Guimarães Castle was born.

In the 12th century, the Portucalense County, a predecessor to what is now known as Portugal, was born. Counts Don Henrique and Dona Teresa widened and fortified the castle, they were they parents of Alfonso I, the first King of Portugal. The tradition is said to have been born in this castle.

In the year 1128 the battle of São Mamede took place between the troops of Afonso I and Dona Teresa (his mother), with Afonso I as victor. It was on this date when the county became independent from Castille y León and more or less became a small piece of Portugal. During his rule he widened and consolidated the country, expanding it a little further than Lisbon, which was quite a lot for such a short time.

Returning to the castle, with the passing of time it suffered a process of abandonment and deterioration until the 20th century when it was declared a National Monument and restored (although too much, in my opinion).

The place was named one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal in 2007, together with other monuments that I have already spoken about in other articles, like the Monastery of Batalha, or the walls and castle of Óbidos.

source

The Castle

Although the castle can be found in a good state and looking pretty, it seems to me a bit too much to be included in the 7 Wonders of Portugal. The reason is simple, it is small. I understand that the Castle of Óbidos is one due to Óbidos being a walled city, which is unique in Portugal, but Guimarães Castle isn't anything out of this world.

This castle is free, although you can only visit it from 9:30am to 18:30pm. The place is a tower of homage surrounded by a wall with eight turrets. When I went they were reforming it so I couldn't access all around its walls since there is only one staircase to go up and they were reforming it.

source

More inside the interior there is nothing other than a small chapel around it where tradition says that the Portuguese King was baptised.

The truth is that it is a beautiful castle and I suppose it has beautiful views of Guimarães, but in itself it is nothing special, nor is it an obligatory stop on your visit to Portugal. If I had to class one of the castle in Portugal as a "wonder", I would choose São Jorge in Lisbon, the Almourol or the Leiria or even the Montemor-o-Velho.

And that's it, I can tell you little more about the castle because it doesn't have the monumental richness that others have, like those of Leiria or Montemor-o-Velho. But around it there is a small green area perfect for eating or resting for a while.

As well as recommending the visit to the chapel where the Portuguese King was born, near there we have the Duke of Bragança's Palace which is next to the most important castle of the city.

In conclusion, the truth is that I expected a fortress or something really special to be here, as it is the last of the Wonders of Portugal. Either for national reasons (since Guimarães is considered the cradle of Portugal, or because the north of Portugal also wanted its place on the list, it seems to me the most dispensable of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.

fuente

The castle is pretty for sure; to see so many turrets when other castles in Portugal do not have any, or the ones they do have are in bad condition. With the castle being free and small, you can make a visit in less than a quarter of an hour as it won't take you long to walk around the castle. That's why, although it's not really special, if you go through Guimarães, you can't miss it.

source