GUIMARÃES (Portugal): Largo do Toural.Considered to be the heart of the city, in the 17th century this square, located at one of the gates to the city, was actually outside the town walls, where cattle and other items where sold at market.
In 1791, the City Hall took possession of some plots of land adjacent to the city walls for the construction of buildings in accordance with a plan thought to have come from Lisbon. Thus, the slow transformation of the Toural began. In the second half of the 19th century, the Public Gardens were built, inaugurated in 1878. With a wrought iron fence around it, the park featured the design material popular at the time – iron – which was used to build benches, lamps, a pavilion for musical performances and even a public urinal. With the fall of the monarchy and the rise of the Republic, the public gardens were transferred to another site and a statue of Dom Afonso Henriques was erected in the remodelled Toural Square. A few years later, this statue was removed to the Parque do Castelo and replaced by a more artistic one.
In 1791, the City Hall took possession of some plots of land adjacent to the city walls for the construction of buildings in accordance with a plan thought to have come from Lisbon. Thus, the slow transformation of the Toural began. In the second half of the 19th century, the Public Gardens were built, inaugurated in 1878. With a wrought iron fence around it, the park featured the design material popular at the time – iron – which was used to build benches, lamps, a pavilion for musical performances and even a public urinal. With the fall of the monarchy and the rise of the Republic, the public gardens were transferred to another site and a statue of Dom Afonso Henriques was erected in the remodelled Toural Square. A few years later, this statue was removed to the Parque do Castelo and replaced by a more artistic one.
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