Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree - Guimarães

The origins of the Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree date back to the time of Countess Mumadona Dias and the founding of the city of Guimarães.

The monastery in honor of the Savior of the World, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles, built by Countess Mumadona in the 10th century , gave rise to a collegiate church in the 12th century. During the Middle Ages, the Church of Our Lady of the Olive Tree became a popular religious center in the Iberian Peninsula , thanks to its popularity among pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela .

When the Republic was founded in 1911, the collegiate church ceased to exist. The building has undergone successive renovations over the years and therefore has features from different periods and styles. The most recent intervention, from 1967, restored much of the Gothic influence that it still has today, after a neoclassical renovation in 1830.

The Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira is undoubtedly one of the most historically important monuments in Guimarães.

Willem Vandenameele