Largo da Oliveira

Square in Guimarães

Largo Da Oliveira Guimarães
CC BY-SA 2.0 / manuelfouce

Considered today as the heart of the city, in the 17th century it was an extramural square next to the main gate of the village, where the cattle fair and other products were held. It was named after a centuries-old olive tree that was planted here.

In 1791 the Council allocated the land next to the wall for the construction of buildings, which were later built according to a plan possibly coming from Lisbon, and thus determines the beginning of the slow transformation of Toural. In the second half of the century, the Public Garden was built, surrounded by an iron railing, which opened in 1878. Urban furniture was created for this space, framed in the new iron architecture: gazebo, urinal, benches and lamps.

With the establishment of the Republic, the Public Garden was transferred to another location, and the statue of D. Afonso Henriques was then placed in the centre of Toural. A few years later, it moved to Parque do Castelo and was replaced by an eye-catching Artistic Fountain.

Currently, as a result of the intervention carried out in 2011, the Renaissance Fountain with three bowls, originally placed in Toural in 1583, and then transferred to Largo Martins Sarmento between 1873 and 2011, has returned to the square.


The Largo da Oliveira appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Guimarães!

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Visiting Largo da Oliveira

Address: Largo da Oliveira, Guimaraes, Portugal
Duration: 10 minutes

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