page_title: Church of São Miguel do Castelo
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Church of São Miguel do Castelo / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Entrada da Igreja de São Miguel do Castelo, Oliveira do Castelo, Guimarães.
context_page_description: The Church of São Miguel do Castelo is a medieval church in the civil parish of Oliveira do Castelo, municipality of Guimarães, in the northern district of Braga of Portugal. The church is emblematically linked to the foundation of the Portuguese Kingdom; legend suggests that it was the sight of the baptism of the young Afonso Henriques. These claims are contradictory, since the date of the church's founding has been suggested to be during the reign of Afonso II of Portugal.
context_section_description: The Church stands on the northern limit of the historic centre of Guimarães, on the flank of Monte Latito, encircled by forest and accessible by several pedestrian trails. To the southeast is the Chapel of Santa Cruz, to the north is the Castle of Guimarães and to the south the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza.
  Stylistically, the building appears to conform to secondary status on the Sacred Hill (Portuguese: Colina Sagrada) of Guimarães.  Manuel Monteiro highlighted that the chapel was simple, and concluded that it was a slightly illegal construction (as indicated by the conflict between the Archbishop and the canons of Guimarães). Its almost lack of decoration, with compact walls, low lighting and simple plan (nave and juxtapositioned chancel), were to Monteiro's opinion, indicators of an illegal treatment of the building.  When the Archbishop finally consecrated the building the influence of Gothic architecture began to be promoted within the territories, and Romanesque treatments were seen as a resistance to the new style.
  The longitudinal church existing of a single rectangular nave and chancel, is built on staggered horizontal spaces covered in a tiled-roof. The walls are constructed in granite blocks topped by gables, while the lateral walls support double eaves.  The main facade with portico with interrupted lintel includes a double arch with simple tympanum. The archway is flanked by beams supporting the main body, while a slit window surmounts the entrance and a cross fleury at the apex of its frontispiece.  The lateral southern and northern walls are accessible by doors with lintels, and surmounted by demarcated arch with complementary beams and slit windows (as in the facade, but less grande).
  The northern facade also includes to arcosolium on either side of the door, one semi-ornate that includes archivolt decoration and the other a more simple.  There are no indications whether either arcosolium at one time held remains. The posterior wall also includes a slit window open to the apse and Maltese cross above the main body of the nave.
caption: Main entrance with a facade that includes an archivolt portico, slit windows and cross fleury
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E2200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2008:10:20 19:24:01", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2278", "Image XPComment": "[32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 0, 0]", "Image XPSubject": "[0, 0]", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "10/2747", "EXIF FNumber": "26/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:03:22 19:22:58", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "47/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "36", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}