The current Castle at Guimarães dates from the reign of D. Dinis when it was strengthened and the walls extended to encircle the main part of the lower town.
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The Castle at Guimarães |
The 14th century defences withstood the invasion of D. Henrique of Castela in 1369. The Mestre de Aviz also lacked forces to take the town by storm, resorting to subterfuge. The Castle, however, resisted all assaults, until the Alcaide, seeing that his cause was lost, surrendered.
Eventually the Castle at Guimarães lost its military significance and at the end of the Civil War (1832-34) its demolition was proposed to reuse the stone for paving the town’s streets. Fortunately this did not occur, so that William Flower was able to take the first photograph of Guimarães Castle (cerca 1854), a gesture repeated by thousands of tourists every year.
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