Castle of Guimarães

Oliveira do Castelo

Background

In the context of the Christian À época da Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the domains of Vimaranes were granted, at the end of the 9th century, to a knight of supposed Castilian origin, named Diogo Fernandes, who settled there.

One of his daughters, named Mumadona Dias, married the powerful Count Hermenegildo Gonçalves, who came to govern, from the middle of the 10th century until the third quarter of the 11th century, the domains of Portucale. Mumadona was widowed around 928, coming into possession of vast domains, which she divided in July 950 with her six children. At that time, through pious inspiration, she founded a monastery in the lower part of the town of Vimaranes, to which she later made a large donation of land, cattle, rents, objects of worship and religious books (January 26, 959).

The medieval castle

The town of Vimaranes was divided, at the time, into two nuclei: one at the top of what was then called Monte Largo, and the other at the foot of this elevation, where the monastery was founded. It was vulnerable to At the time, in addition to possible incursions by Muslim forces, originating from the border south of Coimbra, and incursions by Normans, coming from the North Sea in fast and agile vessels, which ravaged the coasts and the navigable course of the rivers at the time.

Aiming to defend the monastic nucleus, the benefactress began, on the top of Monte Largo, a castle to shelter people in case of need. historiographically, the excerpt from the letter of donation of this castle to the clergy, drawn up in December 958, which contains this decision, is well known. It is believed that the structure then erected, under the invocation of Saint Mammes, was quite simple, consisting of a tower possibly surrounded by a fence.

A little over a century ago, the town of Vimaranes was among the domains donated by King Alfonso VI of León and Castile to Henry of Burgundy, which formed the County of Portugal. Count Henry (1095-1112) and his wife, Teresa of León, chose this settlement and its castle as their residence. Thus, the original building from the time of Mumadona was demolished and, in its place, the imposing structure of the Keep was erected. The defensive perimeter was expanded and reinforced, with the main gate opening to the west over the town and the so-called Porta da Traição to the east.

Within the walls of this enclosure, Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185) resisted the siege by the forces of King Afonso VII of León and Castile in 1127, an event that led Egas Moniz to guarantee the sovereign's vassalage to his master, freeing the town from the siege. In the neighboring field of São Mamede, the castle witnessed the clash between the forces of Afonso I of Portugal and those of D.Teresa (June 24, 1128) which, with the victory of the former's arms, gave rise to Portuguese nationality.

Between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century, Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211) rode around the upper part of the town on horseback, in order to mark a boundary, and it is likely that the walling of the town began at that time. In the middle of the 13th century, under the reign of Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279), the definitive layout of the town's enclosure began, unifying the town of Castelo (upper part) with the town of Santa Maria (lower part). These works were completed during the reign of Denis of Portugal (1279-1325), before 1322, when the town, whose mayor was Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, victoriously withstood the siege of the troops of Prince D.Afonso. Inside, however, the old wall of the upper part was maintained, demolished around 1420.

During the reign of Fernando I of Portugal (1367-1383), reinforcement work was carried out on the town's fence, which was besieged at that time by the troops of Henry II of Castile, who, invading Portugal through the Minho, had already conquered Braga. Its mayor at the time was Gonçalo Pais de Meira (1369).

During the crisis of 1383-1385, with its mayor, Aires Gomes da Silva, maintaining the Castilian side, the town was besieged again (June 1385), this time by forces loyal to John I of Portugal (1385-1433), who conquered it. This sovereign unified the jurisdiction of the two communities (upper and lower), incorporating them into a single municipality, henceforth called Guimarães (1389). The Guimarães fence comprised, at that time, a perimeter of about two kilometers, being reinforced by eight towers and divided by eight gates.

From the 15th century to the present day

From the 15th century onwards, due to advances in artillery, Guimarães Castle lost its defensive function. In the following century, its outbuildings became home to the Municipal Jail, and in the 17th century, to a hayloft belonging to the king, which made it even more ruinous.

In the 18th century, at the request of the Collegiate, the stonework from the Tower of Our Lady of Guia was used for the construction of the Church of São Miguel da Oliveira.

In 1836, one of the members of the Patriotic Society of Guimarães advocated the demolition of the castle and the use of its stone to pave the streets of Guimarães, since it had served as a political prison during the reign of D.Miguel (1828-1834). Although this proposal was not accepted (by a single vote in the City Council), in the middle of the century the Tower of São Bento was demolished. The town was elevated to the status of city in 1853, by D.Maria II (1826-1828, 1834-1853). Later, under the reign of D.Luís (1861-1889) the castle was listed, by Decree published on March 19, 1881, as a 1st Class Historical Monument, the only one in the Minho region.

Classified as a National Monument by Decrees published on August 27, 1908 and in 1910, from 1937 onwards the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments began an extensive intervention campaign, which culminated in its reinauguration on June 4, 1940, on the occasion of the celebrations of the VIII Centenary of the Foundation of the Nationality.

Later, the same agency carried out smaller works on the complex in 1966, 1981 and 1986.

Currently well preserved, it is open to the public.

Architecture

The castle has a plan in the approximate shape of a faceted shield. Its walls, reinforced by four towers, are punctuated by gates. A battlement, accessed by stairs in the towers, runs along the upper part of the walls, crowned by pentagonal battlements with a pointed edge. On the west side, a wooden bridge connects the battlement of the walls and the gate of the keep. In the northern section of the walls, the ruins of the old citadel can be seen, probably from the 14th century, which is divided into two floors, with its exterior windows and two chimneys standing out.

The main gate, to the west, is defended by two towers, with another two defending the treason gate, to the east. The Keep, in the center of the parade ground, has a quadrangular plan, with a few openings marking the floors, connected internally by wooden and stone stairs. A wide, continuous battlement allows for circulation and observation at the top of the tower, crowned by pointed pentagonal battlements.

Interesting facts

According to tradition, the first king of Portugal, Afonso I of Portugal (1112-85), was born here. The font where he is said to have been baptized is in the Romanesque chapel of the Church of São Miguel da Oliveira, in the western sector of the castle.