Celebrated as the cradle of the Portuguese nation, Guimarães
played an important role in many of the events that led to the
country's independence and witnessed the birth of Afonso Henriques
I. When he proclaimed himself Portugal's first king in 1139,
he chose Guimarães as his capital, and the distinctive
outline of its proud castle appears on the Portuguese coat of
arms. It was elevated to city status by Queen Maria II in 1853. What to see: First built to deter attacks by Moors and
Normans in the 10th century, the city's famous castle dominates
the skyline with eight square towers and a 27-metre-high dungeon.
Close by, the original cloister and chapter house still remain
of the tiny Romanesque church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira,
built by Count Henry and his son on the site of a 10th-century
monastery. The left-hand font inside the church is where Afonso
Henriques was baptised. The Alberto Sampaio Museum located in
a 12th-century chapter house in the centre of town contains
a vestment of João I and a portable 14th-century altar. Nearby: The Iron Age settlement of Citânia de Briteiros
is one of Portugal's most impressive archaeological sites. Comprising
some 200 houses, nearly all circular with a diameter of 5 metres,
the settlement is surrounded by an oval-shaped wall measuring
250 metres north-to-south and 150 metres wide. It was inhabited
in the 6 BC by pre-Celtic people and abandoned in 4 AD.
