It is located next to the Castle of Guimarães, in the parish of Oliveira do Castelo, city and municipality of Guimarães, district of Braga, Northern Portugal
According to legend, the first king of Portugal “D. Afonso Henriques” was baptized here, where the baptismal font that was used in the ceremony is kept here.
The temple was built by the Collegiate of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira and was consecrated by the then primate of Braga, Silvestre Godinho in 1239.
Due to its dating, the Romanesque is no longer perfect, and seems to indicate in some aspects the rise of the Gothic.
The Church of São Miguel do Castelo over the centuries fell into ruins, a state it was in in the mid-19th century when the Martins Sarmento Society decided to restore it.
The Church of São Miguel do Castelo has a longitudinal plan composed of a single nave and a narrower rectangular main chapel with staggered volumes of horizontal dominance with differentiated gable roof coverings.
The facades are made of granite stonework, the tops of the bodies are gabled, and the side facades are finished with corbels under a double eaves.
The main facade is oriented by a portal with an interrupted lintel inscribed in two archivolts with a broken arch, the first decorated with a smooth tympanum, and above by a pair of corbels that would support the porch and in the center at the top the crevice, and at the apex of the gable end there is a flowered cross.
The S. and N. side facade opens onto the nave by a portal with an interrupted lintel, topped by an arch demarcated in the wall, flanked on top by a pair of corbels and slits.
The N. side facade has a portal with two arcosolia, the one on the left in a broken arch, and the one on the right in a full arch with an archivolt decorated with a sawtooth ornament.
The rear facade with an open slit in the main chapel and a Maltese cross at the top of the gable of the nave.
Inside the Church it has granite stone walls with a wooden roof with exposed beams, and granite slab floors incorporating decorated funerary stelae with inscriptions.
On the back wall, on the Gospel side, there is a granite baptismal font with a column with a simple circular section, and a framed cup at the bottom and top. The baptistery is demarcated by a wrought iron guard with railings demarcated in the upper half by a twist crowned by stylized lily flowers, next to this there is a tombstone with an inscription, and side portals inscribed in full arches.
The inscription engraved on a tombstone in the baptistry alluding to the baptism of D. Afonso Henriques in that church dated 1664.
The Triumphal Arch is decorated with a frieze with simple interlacing, based on imposts formed by the cornice that runs along the vestment.
The main chapel is elevated by a step, and has a straight granite altar leaning against the front wall on a two-step pedestal.
In the Church of São Miguel do Castelo, the first king of Portugal, “Dom Afonso Henriques”, was baptized, and it is still possible to see the font where he was baptized, and the graves of noble warriors linked to the founding of the nationality.
The temple was built by the Collegiate of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira and was consecrated by the then primate of Braga, Silvestre Godinho in 1239.
Due to its dating, the Romanesque is no longer perfect, and seems to indicate in some aspects the rise of the Gothic.
The Church of São Miguel do Castelo over the centuries fell into ruins, a state it was in in the mid-19th century when the Martins Sarmento Society decided to restore it.
The Church of São Miguel do Castelo has a longitudinal plan composed of a single nave and a narrower rectangular main chapel with staggered volumes of horizontal dominance with differentiated gable roof coverings.
The facades are made of granite stonework, the tops of the bodies are gabled, and the side facades are finished with corbels under a double eaves.
The main facade is oriented by a portal with an interrupted lintel inscribed in two archivolts with a broken arch, the first decorated with a smooth tympanum, and above by a pair of corbels that would support the porch and in the center at the top the crevice, and at the apex of the gable end there is a flowered cross.
The S. and N. side facade opens onto the nave by a portal with an interrupted lintel, topped by an arch demarcated in the wall, flanked on top by a pair of corbels and slits.
The N. side facade has a portal with two arcosolia, the one on the left in a broken arch, and the one on the right in a full arch with an archivolt decorated with a sawtooth ornament.
The rear facade with an open slit in the main chapel and a Maltese cross at the top of the gable of the nave.
Inside the Church it has granite stone walls with a wooden roof with exposed beams, and granite slab floors incorporating decorated funerary stelae with inscriptions.
On the back wall, on the Gospel side, there is a granite baptismal font with a column with a simple circular section, and a framed cup at the bottom and top. The baptistery is demarcated by a wrought iron guard with railings demarcated in the upper half by a twist crowned by stylized lily flowers, next to this there is a tombstone with an inscription, and side portals inscribed in full arches.
The inscription engraved on a tombstone in the baptistry alluding to the baptism of D. Afonso Henriques in that church dated 1664.
The Triumphal Arch is decorated with a frieze with simple interlacing, based on imposts formed by the cornice that runs along the vestment.
The main chapel is elevated by a step, and has a straight granite altar leaning against the front wall on a two-step pedestal.
In the Church of São Miguel do Castelo, the first king of Portugal, “Dom Afonso Henriques”, was baptized, and it is still possible to see the font where he was baptized, and the graves of noble warriors linked to the founding of the nationality.
The Classification of the Church of São Miguel do Castelo
The Church of São Miguel do Castelo has been classified as a National Monument since June 16, 1910, simultaneously with the neighboring Castelo de Guimarães and Paço dos Duques de Bragança, thus forming a complex of great importance, not only historically but also architecturally.
