Barcelos grew at a strategic crossing of the Cávado on the medieval road between Porto and Ponte de Lima. The stone bridge built in the 14th century brought merchants and pilgrims directly through the town.
Barcelos is best known for the Galo de Barcelos, a rooster associated with a legend about a falsely accused pilgrim saved from hanging after a cooked rooster miraculously crowed. A closely related pilgrim legend is told at Santo Domingo de la Calzada on the Camino Francés.
What to see in Barcelos
Paço dos Condes de Barcelos
Afonso, Count of Barcelos and later 1st Duke of Bragança, built this fortified palace beside the bridge in the early 15th century. Much of the building collapsed in 1800, and further stone was removed during the 19th century.
The archaeological museum contains the Cruzeiro do Senhor do Galo, a stone cross whose carvings depict the legend of the condemned pilgrim, Santiago and the miraculous rooster.
Templo do Bom Jesus da Cruz
According to local tradition, a cross of black earth mysteriously appeared in the muddy ground of the Campo da Feira in December 1504. The present church was built in the early 18th century and opened for worship in 1710. The event is still commemorated in Barcelos's annual Festa das Cruzes ("Festival of the Crosses").
Igreja Matriz
Pedro Afonso, 3rd Count of Barcelos, commissioned this church in the 14th century, and his coat of arms remains carved on the main portal. The building preserves both Romanesque and Gothic features, and the nave is lined with 18th-century azulejos depicting the life of the Virgin Mary.
Where to stay in Barcelos
