Barcelos is the cradle of Portugal’s symbol in the world, the Galo de Barcelos (Barcelos Rooster). A happy, creative, safe and sunny city, located on the north coast of Portugal, between Braga and Porto. The city evokes a garden amid the sea and the mountains, bathed by the River Cávado and crossed by the Portuguese Way of Santiago.
Located on a hill above the River Cavado, Barcelos is one of the prettiest places in the north of Portugal. From its origins as a settlement in Roman times, the town later developed into a flourishing agricultural centre and achieved political importance during the 15th century as the seat of the First Duke of Bragança.
Today, Barcelos is best known for its pottery, most notably the brightly-painted clay cockerel, whose crowing saved a man from the gallows according to the local legend.
Built in 1704, the octagonally-shaped church of Senhora da Cruz was built over an old chapel where a local cobbler was said to have had a miraculous vision of a cross etched into the ground. The 500-year-old Feast of the Crosses occurs each May at this church.
Home to the huge weekly market, the centrally-located Campo da República is one of the largest open squares in Portugal. Each Thursday, visitors can browse amongst the market’s vast range of Portuguese pottery, most of which is handmade in small cottages and factories in the surrounding countryside.
Destroyed by the great earthquake of 1755, the ruins of the Dukes of Bragança Palace now serve as an open-air museum featuring a 15th-century cross depicting the story of the cockerel.
It is a Craft and Folk Arts UNESCO Creative City, since 2017, a territory that built around creativity an argument for sustainable development, that led the city to win the 2019 European Prize – Best Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destination, promoted by the European Cultural Tourism Network. The city is also member of the Creative Tourism Network as a Creative Friendly Destination. A lively and intense territory of creative emotions.
