Largo do Toural - Central Meeting Square of the City - Shopping

Largo do Toural is one of the most central and important squares in the Portuguese city of Guimarães . Starting in the 17th century as a place for the sale of oxen and other goods.

Considered today as the heart of the city, it was in the 17th century an extramural square next to the main gate of the town, where the cattle fair and others of different products were held.

In 1791, the City Council cleared the land next to the wall for the construction of buildings, which were later built according to a plan possibly coming from Lisbon, and thus the beginning of the slow transformation of the Toural was determined. In the second half of the century, the Public Garden was built, surrounded by an iron railing, which opened in 1878. For this space, urban furniture was created, framed in the new iron architecture: bandstand, urinal, benches and lamps. With the establishment of the Republic, the Public Garden was transferred to another location, and the statue of D. Afonso Henriques was placed in the center of the Toural, now remodelled. A few years later this one goes to Parque do Castelo and is replaced by a showy Artistic Fountain