Guimarães is to be the European Capital of Culture in 2012

Thursday, 21 January 2010 00:00

The Northern city of Guimarães, the cradle of the Portuguese nation,  is to be the European Capital of Culture in 2012. European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one year during which it showcases its cultural life and cultural development. Guimarães presented the vision  for the city's development. The expected impacts of the 2012 event will be:

• urban regeneration of the city, together with social and economic regeneration
(transforming the city's economy from a model of industrial economy into a
creative economy) through culture
• the city as a model for cultural leadership
• cooperation and co-creation with other European cities.

The program will be composed of numerous projects designed by cultural institutions of Guimarães as well as the ECOC team. The total budget including operational and capital expenditures is estimated at 111 million euros.

For Portuguese people, Guimarães has a very special meaning, for it was in a field close to the walls of its castle that D. Afonso Henriques  began the process that would lead to the foundation of the kingdom of Portugal, of which he was to become the first king. Today, the site is known as Colina Sagrada (Sacred Hill), crowned by Guimarães Castle, , as well as the small Romanesque church of São Miguel. According to tradition, it was in this modest church that Afonso Henriques was baptized in the font that can still be seen inside.  the Ducal Palace, now both a palace and a museum, originally built in the 15th century. In 2001, UNESCO awarded the historical centre of the city of Guimarães to the list of World Heritage. A distinction that is fully merited by this city, one that is full of historical memories and has so carefully preserved its heritage and public spaces for the pleasure and delight of its visitors.