Palace of the Dukes of Bragança - Guimarães

The Paço dos Duques was built by the eighth Count of Barcelos (and later the first Duke of Bragança), D. Afonso, the illegitimate son of King João I and D. Inês Pires Esteves. It was built between 1420 and 1433.

D. Afonso travelled throughout Europe for diplomatic duties and on his own initiative. He travelled to England, Scotland, Spain, France and Italy, and also took part in military campaigns in Ceuta. These journeys certainly influenced his way of seeing the world and his way of life, and also influenced the way he built his palace in Guimarães.

The palace was probably used as a residence of the Dukes of Braganza in the 1500s , but then gradually fell into disrepair. Evidence of this vacancy is the permission given in 1666 to the Capuchin monks of Guimarães to extract stone from it for the construction of their monastery.

In the 19th century, during the French invasions, the palace was converted into a military barracks . And in the following century, during the Estado Novo regime, the Paço dos Duques was rebuilt, initially by architect Rogério de Azevedo. This work took place between 1937 and 1959 and it was inaugurated on June 25, 1959, the year in which it became the official residence of the President of the Republic in the north of the country.

Willem Vandenameele