Guimaraes Castle, Guimaraes Palace, king Alfonso Henriques, Portugal

Evoking the Middle Ages, the grand old Castelo de Guimarães still exudes much of the boldness and pride that created the kingdom of Portugal many centuries ago.

Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques, is widely believed to have been born inside the castle, a magnificent fortress perched on top of Sacred Hill (Colina Sagrada) – a place that remains very dear to the hearts of the Portuguese people today.

Known in Portuguese as the Torre de Menagem, the impressive 10th-century keep (along with its eight surrounding towers) was the inspiration behind the country’s coat of arms, and the whole castl complex is affectionately known as the ‘cradle of the nation’ (o berço da nação Portuguesa).

Portugal’s history is a long and chequered one, but arguably the most important chapter of them all is the story of how the lovely city of Guimarães and its magnificent castle soared into prominence well over 900 years ago.

The fertile province of Portucale – which roughly comprised the land between the Douro and the Minho rivers, including the handsome city of Porto – was part of Teresa’s dowry, and the couple chose Guimarães as their court.

Teresa bore Henry a son supposedly within the castle’s walls, a fine and very healthy baby who was duly christened Afonso Henriques, a name that was destined to become deeply synonymous with the birth of the wonderful country we know today as Portugal.

Nevertheless, when his mother continued to ally herself with the Spanish realm, Afonso later took up arms against her forces and went on to score several monumental victories before crowning himself King of Portucale in 1139, thus marking the beginning of the country’s 771-year-long monarchy.

Close by, the 15th-century Paço dos Duques (Ducal Palace) must also be seen for its armoury, numerous paintings by Portuguese, Dutch and Italian masters, several splendid pieces of Indo-Portuguese furniture, some fine old French and Flemish tapestries and an extremely rare collection of Persian rugs from the 15th to 17th centuries.

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