Caminha. Historical centre

About this heritage

Caminha is a Portuguese village that belongs to Viana do Castelo district, in the North region and sub-region of Minho-Lima. It is located at the Miño river´s mouth and is characterized by being a flat city easy to walk with some beautiful beaches at the river´s mouth.

This town is characterized by the typical Portuguese architecture with houses mostly of two heights, many of them decorated with the typical tiles that provide a characteristic brightness and colour of the Portugal´s villages. At the entrance of the church is the Matriz or Nuestra Señora de la Asunción church, which is characterized by its different styles, since it was built on top of an old Romanesque chapel. It was completed in the 15th century and has been a National Monument since 1910. The group of Manueline and Renaissance houses located in Direita street, known as “oito casas" (eight houses) is very curious.

Going up this same street is the Clock Tower, symbol of the city. This is the main tower of the urban wall of Caminha, and is the only one remaining of the three entrance gates to the Castle´s village, which was the main access.. Inside is an Interpretation Centre that can be visited and accessed up to the top from where you can enjoy 360º views of the town. From this position it is easier to see the urban wall of Caminha, of which there are only remains and a land fort that is outside the historical centre on a plateau. The oldest parts date back to the 13th century, work of King Alfonso III. In the 14th century, John I added a second line of defence. But it was in the 17th century, after the Restoration War, when the current walls and bastions were built, leaving the Clock Tower as the only testimony of the medieval wall.

In front of this tower is the Renaissance Fonte do Terreiro in Praça Conselheiro Silva Torres. Behind this fantastic fountain follows Rua da Corredoura where there are two houses decorated with Portuguese tiles and then the Casa dos Pitas, a two-storey building from the mid-seventeenth century, with a monumental facade crowned by battlements. The upper floor, quite long, has seven windows decorated in Manueline style.

In the middle of the Miño river´s estuary, on San Isidro island, the ruins of the Fort of Insua remain, built in the 15th century for defence purposes, consisting of the convent, the church and the lantern. Its origins date back to 1392, when a Franciscan convent was founded on an earlier hermitage. In 1649, to build a five-bastioned fortress was ordered.

To learn more

The Santa Rita de Cassia ferry links the Miño´s two banks between A Guarda and the Portuguese municipality of Caminha in a journey of about 15 minutes. Despite the fact that the river has five international bridges, this ferry has been operating uninterruptedly for over 24 years. Thus Galicia and Portugal are united by a boat that continues to provide service today. People use it to go to work or to make purchases in their respective markets, thus energizing both banks, since the closest pass is in Goián parish, which would mean a journey of more than 40 km.

It is an open door to Galicia and it also continues the Portuguese Way along the coast that ends the fifth stage of the road from Viana do Castelo, to start the first stage from A Guarda. This fifth stage is long but easy, as it is flat and crosses numerous beaches via wooden walkways over dunes, stone paths, dirt tracks or promenades.

It must be taken into account that the use of this ferry is conditioned by the tides, as sand and silt fill the riverbed over time. Both city councils, both Caminha, owner of the boat and responsible for its management, and A Guarda, update every Monday the departure´s timetable to facilitate access for pilgrims, users and tourists.

To know it better

Caminha, at the Miño river´s mouth, is a village in the north of Portugal, near Galicia. From the 12th century onwards, Caminha grew thanks to fishing and trade, and was also a key area for the military battles between Portugal and the Castilians and Leonese.

In Caminha village, the remains of the Castle and the walls stand out, as well as the Matriz church and the Relógio tower. The Igreja Matriz, begun in 1488, and it has a Gothic model with three naves and a crenellated tower, typical of defensive or walled towers. The temple is made of granite stone with wooden ceilings and it also has arches that separate different naves.

The Relógio tower, is a symbol for Caminha because it was part of the walls built in the 13th century by King Afonso III. At the beginning, there were 13 towers and nowadays, we can only appreciate the Clock Tower, with a square floor plan.