Guarda - Portugal

Guarda, my beloved city. Love it ❤ I really like when friends of mine come to visit the city and when possible, I like to be their guide. The last friend who visited the city was Tiago but the promised guided tour ended up being shorter than expected because of the rain. 

Tiago sent me the 1st of these cards but it took quite some time to get to my mailbox. He sent it on April 27th, the day he left the city, the postmark date is 3rd of May and I only received it on the 5th !!! I feel like saying a lot but is probably better to make no comments, except to thank Tiago once again for the postcard.

www.edigpostal.com

Besides the Luís de Camões Square, also known as Old Square, with our beautiful cathedral, thos card also depicts the G roundabout, a pillory and one of the gates of the city, Ferreiros (blacksmiths) Tower. 

Guarda, the highest city in Portugal, it is chilly and windswept all year round and offers superb views. The city was founded in 1197 by Dom Sancho I to guard his borders against both Moors and Spaniards, and though the castle and walls have all but disappeared, its streets and little squares are uniquely picturesque. - in: https://portugal.com

 Photo by A. Pinto

Back in 2012 I've sent this card to myself because I wanted to use a macthing stamp. 

The mediaeval Catedral da Guarda  is a historical religious building in Guarda, in Northeastern Portugal. Its construction took from 1390 until the mid 16th century, combining Gothic and Manueline styles.

The History of Guarda Cathedral begins in 1199, when King Sancho I obtained permission from the Pope to transfer the seat of the bishopric from nearby Egitania (Idanha-a-Velha) to Guarda.

Two other cathedrals were built before the actual one and both were destroyed.

The third and definitive Guarda Cathedral started being built in 1390 under bishop Vasco de Lamego, during the reign of King John I. In the early 15th century the apse was built and the nave was begun in Gothic style. In this first stage the works were influenced by the Monastery of Batalha, which was being built at the same time. Construction on the Cathedral proceeded slowly during the second half of the century.

In the period from 1504 to 1517, under bishop Pedro Gavião, the pace of the works increased and the cathedral was almost completed. The architects of this phase were 'Pedro and Felipe Henriques. The Manueline style - a Portuguese mix of Gothic and early Renaissance - was the dominant influence in this second building stage, as attested by the decoration of the windows of the nave and transept, the decorated rib vaulting of the transept, some spiralling columns of the nave as well as the main portal, similar to the Manueline portal of Saint Michael's Chapel of Coimbra University.

Most building activity in Guarda Cathedral was finished around 1540.

During the following centuries the cathedral was enriched with other elements. Despite the artistic value of some of these additions - like the Baroque organ - all were removed during a renovation carried out in 1898 by architect Rosendo Carvalheira, which aimed at restoring the cathedral to its primitive, Gothic/Manueline appearance. - in: wikipedia