Recognized by many as the castle linked par excellence to the origins of Portugal. It is a county foundation, from the second half of the 10th century. Countess Mumadona herself declares on a parchment dated from 968 that she founded it to protect the monastery in Guimarães from the attack of the “Gentiles” (probably referring to the Normans). At the end of the 11th century, during the ruling of the Counts D. Henrique and D. Teresa, the castle underwent a profound renovation, of which there are traces mainly on the North façade. In the 12th century, during the time of our first monarch, it underwent a new reform to cover the current perimeter, although still without its eight towers. It was in the second half of the 13th century, with the Gothic reforms, that the Castelo de Guimarães took on its current form. Starting at the beginning of the 16th century, the Guimarães Castle suffered years of neglect and decay. With no military function, it came to be used as a prison. Classified as a National Monument in 1881, included in the first heritage list know in Portugal. It acquired an unavoidable emblematic value, much encouraged by the Estado Novo, who embarqued on a deep restoration intervention started in 1936 and inaugurated in 1940. Today it continues to be one of the most emblematic and recognized Portuguese medieval castles.