Palace of Dukes of Braganza, a Must See in Guimaraes, Portugal
After touring Castle of Guimaraes we moved on to Palace of Dukes of Braganza. Touring Castle of Guimaraes took barely 30 minutes of our time. The Palace is adjacent to castle, within 5 minutes of walking distance. There was hardly any crowd when we reached the palace. No queues for tickets either. So there was nobody urging us to move forward, which we usually experience in crowded palaces.
The Palace of Dukes of Braganza belongs to medieval period. Everything about it was evidently old! The interiors therefore have a different charm. The displays are delicate and rare. Rooms after rooms, they are stuffed with tapestries, furniture, weapons, porcelain, crockery and curios. They sure have been maintained well for centuries.
Brief History of Palace of Dukes of Braganza
Palace of Dukes of Braganza was built between 1420 and 1422 by Afonso, Count of Barcelos, the illegitimate son of John I of Portugal (and future Duke of Braganca). His descendants occupied the palace until the Dukes of Braganza moved to Vila Viçosa, abandoning the palace.
16th Century marked the beginning of period of ruin, which was aggravated during the 19th century, when the local population used the palace as a personal quarry. The Palace was reused so a military barracks could be installed in its premises. The Ducal Palace of the Braganza was classified as a National Monument in 1910.
Only after that the Palace reconstruction was taken up seriously. The location is beautiful; set amidst a little forest. Good thing that they have maintained the greenery all around till today.
Hall of Lost Steps – This is grand! Can you believe that during ducal times the room functioned as a waiting room? The furniture we saw was from the 16th and 17th centuries! Delicate and beautiful Chinese porcelain and some replicas of Belgian tapestry from the 15th century.
Hall of Lost Steps
Architecture and Interior of the Palace
The palace rooms have been built around a rectangular courtyard. The symmetric pattern in the facades made it look interesting and worth a few moments of photography. I liked the roof tiles and the chimneys standing tall over them. There are 16 of them. This style is typical architectural influence from northern Europe.
The austere interior spaces have wooden floors and ceilings. The walls are strong made of granite giving the structure a robust look. We crossed several rooms in both the floors.
The spaces are defined well as visitors’ reception area, storage, carpenters space, main hall and office of the director of the site. In the main wing there is an unique staircase of the palace. It consists of four flights in granite. The intermediary floor has the museum space which has several displays. Good thing they allow photography. The halls are impressive with rock fireplaces, including Banquet Hall and the Hall of Lost Steps, with roofs designed like the interior wooden keel of a boat.
The last floor was dedicated for the use of the President of the Republic. There are a series of bedrooms with private bathrooms. This floor is immediately accessible via the small elevator on the ground floor and staircase from the second floor cloister.
Chapel within the Palace
One part of the last floor of the posterior wing, the southwest wing has a succession of rooms and a chapel. The entrance is arched, small one but grand! The chapel has a single nave; windows have beautiful stained glass paintings. A beautiful small chapel within a palace, this one looked good and is worth visiting!
Ticket price:
Cost of tickets to palace is 5euros (free admission on the 1st Sunday of every month and for children <12 years)
Visit Timings:
The palace is open every day from 10am to 6pm.
Parking:
Parking is free in Campo de S. Mamede.
I love such rustic interiors as this palace presents. Thanks for sharing it. The pictures are very beautifully taken too, they bring out the best in the place 🙂
Gorgeous photographs! I love how you let us in on the history of the place as well, it was a fascinating read. Still haven’t been to Portugal yet, really need to go!!
I think if there is one thing we do well in Europe it’s castles and palaces (well we use to do well ha ha) and this one is a great example of it! Love the stained glass of the chapel too!
I have wanted to go to Portugal forever! I’m hoping 2018 is the year I can make it happen! The chapel looks adorable, especially the stained glass windows.
I really would love to visit Portugal. I’m hoping to get there in the next year or 2 as well as Spain 🙂
Your photos are beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing this lovely tour.
This is absolutely outstanding palace, unique architecture and amazing interior. The wall painting seems to be very intricate and it’s so nice to know the greenish around the palace still flourishes.
Excellent shots!
So stunning!! Loved the pic of the chapel.
Nice captures of the palace.
This reminds me of Macau, a Chinese SAR with heavy Portuguese influences. 🙂
Wow. What a gorgeous palace…
Portugal was a great empire once
Oh what a lovely castle.
It looks grand. Love the pillared corridors and the stone walls!
Wow, this is a gorgeous palace. I love both the outside and the lovely interior. Wonderful tour and photos. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!
I am enjoying your series of posts on Portugal and knowing lot about this beautiful country . The castles of Portugal , I think should have a place in best of the castles of the world . Beautiful pictures Indrani ji !!
The interiors are beautiful and very well maintained.. The pictures are wonderful especially the one from chapel.
This is so beautiful.. loved the interiors! 🙂
Such a beautiful palace. Magnificent architecture 🙂
Love those lights and the stained glass windows!
Interiors of the palace are really nice!
Beautiful palace and interiors. What is that mural like painting on wall?
It is a carpet Roohi from ceiling to floor.
Thank you for the comment.
Interiors are so attractive…good post.
Fantastic.
Amazing
Beautiful photographs with a brief history of the place. A typical Indrani post 🙂
Beautiful Photographs of the Chapel and the Palace.. Thanks for sharing!
It’s lovely 🙂
lovely pictures 🙂
thanks for the virtual tour!
We are enjoying your series of posts on Portugal. Looks like hardly any visitors around. We can feel the peacefulness here 🙂
The interiors are beautiful and the wooden ceiling looks interesting.
sort n sweet post
great pics