Nearest Pousadas:
- Geres 41Km
- Amares 36Km
- Guimarães (Sta Marinha) 3Km
- Marão 55Km
Interesting Places:
- Guimarães Castle
- Dukes of Bragança Palace
- Alberto Sampaio Museum
- Penha hill
- São Miguel Church (romanesque style)
- Nossa Sra. da Oliveira Church
- São Francisco Church
- Briteiros Roman Ruins
Fairs and Markets:
- Guimarães City Festivals (Guimarães)
- Nicolinas (Students Festival)
- Our Lady of Light (Creixomil)
- 27's Festival (S. Trocato)
- Lapinha Festival (Lapinha)
- Sto. Amaro Fair
Pousada History:
The Pousada has been successfully adapted from a private manor house, and offers all the comfort of modern amenities, while maintains the charm and privacy characteristics.
From the windows you can enjoy looking over the church steeples and ancient rooftops, inviting you to get know the surrounding Medieval streets, leading to the majestic monuments, so characteristic of the city, as the birthplace of Portugal.
History of Guimarães:
Although is essentially a mediaeval town, Guimarães has its origins in the distant 10th century. It was at this time that the Countess Mumadona Dias, widow of Hemengildo Mendes ordered the construction of a monastery which became the focal point for a settlement. For its defence she ordered a Castle to be built on a hill a short distance away, thus creating a second nucleus of development. A street grew-up linking one to the other - the Santa Maria Road.
Later the monastery acquired great importance due to the privileges and donations bestowed on it by kings and nobility. It became a famous centre for pilgrimage attracting the prayers and promises of the faithful drawn from all quarters.
While the town continued to grow inside the walls which were erected to defend it, the orders of poor friars arrived in Guimarães and made their contribution to shaping the town. The twin nuclei subsequently merged into one, so that by the 15th century the lay-out of the city within the walls had been established.
Although there would still be the construction of some churches, monasteries and palaces and the creation of the Misericordia Square (now João Franco Square) , its alignment would not be significantly altered.
It was from the end of the 19th century, with the advent of new ideas on public health and town planning, that Guimarães, raised to the status of city in 1853 by Queen D. Maria II, would undergo major changes.
The demolition of the city walls was authorised and encouraged. New squares such as Largo de Carmo (today Martins Sarmento square) and Largo Condessa de Juncal were opened, as well as new streets and avenues. Later the Colina da Fundação was landscaped and the Alameda was created. However, almost everything was done in harmony with the conservation of its historic town heart.