The old district capital of Guarda (altitude: 1057m/3468ft), the see of a bishop and once an important stronghold in the province of Beira Alta, lies on a plateau in the northeast of the Serra da Estrela. As Portugal's highest town, with a healthy and very pleasant climate, it has become a popular health resort.
History
There was already a stongly fortified town on this strategically important site in Roman times. In 80 B.C. it sided with Quintus Sertorius in his attempt to break away from Rome, and thereafter withstood many years of assaults and sieges by Caesar's forces.
After the town was devastated by the Moors its inhabitants fled and the remaining buildings became derelict. Much later, in the 12th and 13th C., Guarda was rebuilt by Sancho I and Dinis I and strongly fortified against attack by the Moors and Castilians.
Townscape
At first sight the town, built largely of granite, has a rather gray appearance, but a closer look reveals finely decorated old patrican houses, particularly in the Cathedral Square and the Rua de Dom Luis I. Of the town's 12th and 13th C. fortifications there remain the keep, three town gates and parts of the town walls.
In the middle of some very precipitious countryside and some 45km/28mi northeast of Guarda lies the town of Almeida. It is surrounded by some well preserved Vauban defensive works laid out in the form of a twelve pointed star. Until the 19th C. Almeida remained impregnable until the French succeeded in entering it in 1810.
Address: Almeida Tourist Office, Praça da Liberdade 6350-130 Almeida, Almeida , Portugal
Worth seeing are two Baroque churches in Guarda, the 17th century Misericórdia and 18th century Sao Vicente. Though perhaps somewhat provincial in style, they are no less attractive for that.
Celorico da Beira (alt. 550m/1,804ft), 28km/17mi northwest of Guarda, is a little town with a ruined castle (view), destroyed by French troops in the early 19th C., and several old houses with some Manueline windows.
Address: Celorico da Beira Tourist Office, Estrada Nacional nº 17 6360-357 Celorico da Beira, Celorico da Beira , Portugal
About 1km/0.75mi from the town center is the Romanesque Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Póvoa de Mileu, with finely carved capitals. It is believed to have been founded by the wife of Alfonso Henriques.
The former Bishop's Palace (15th/16th C.) now houses the Regional Museum, where the exhibits range from archeological finds and pictorial archives to paintings and sculpture.
Address: Museu Regional, Rua Alves Roçadas 30, Guarda , Portugal
Hours:
9am-12:30pm, 2pm-5:30pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Anniversity of the Revolution - Portugal (April 25), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), National Day - Portugal (June 10), Assumption Day - Christian (August 15), Republic Day - Portugal (October 5), All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1), Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), Independence Day - Portugal (December 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Good Friday - Christian, Corpus Christi - Christian
An excursion leads northeast from Guarda along the N 221. 30km/ 19mi along the road lies Pinhel, a little town surrounded by defensive walls with six towers. Inside the decayed castle, built by King Dinis I, stands the 14th C. church of Santa Maria de Castelo with a fourteen part picture cycle portraying the life of Mary (17th C.). As well as some typical old houses, the town boasts a monolithic pillory and, outside the walls, the remains of the Romanesque Igreja de Trinidade (church) are of interest.
Address: Pinhel, Rua Silva Gouveia 6400-455 Pinhel, , Portugal
In front of the northern facade of the cathedral is the Praça de Luís de Camoes, or Praça da Sé, containing a modern monument to Sancho I, to whom the town owed its economic and cultural advancement in the Middle Ages. The tourist information center is in the 16th C. Manueline town hall, the Câmara Municipal.
Trancoso, which is at an altitude of 880m/2,886ft about 20km/12mi north of Celorico da Beira, is encircled by walls that were still being extended in the 16th C., signifying its former importance as a fortress. Trancoso castle, now a ruin, was where King Dinis I married his Queen, later Saint, Isabel in 1282. Also worth seeing are several houses of the nobility, complete with coats of arms, a Manueline pelourinho, and the 13th C. church of Santa Luzia.
Address: Trancoso Tourist Office, Avenida Heróis de São Marcos 6420-003 Trancoso, Trancoso , Portugal
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Almeida, Portugal
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