Viseu Cathedral

The cathedral is located on a large and harmonious square, beside the old Bishop's Palace (now the Grão Vasco Museum) and in front of the Misericórdia Church of Viseu.

Archaeological surveys have indicated that the site of Viseu Cathedral was occupied by an Early Christian basilica built during the times of Sueve domination (5th-6th centuries).

Christian life in the city was disturbed in the 8th century with the arrival of Moorish invaders, who dominated Viseu until Ferdinand I of León reconquered it in 1058.

The church was greatly enlarged in the following centuries of the Middle Ages, assuming its present configuration as a three-aisled building with three Eastern chapels.

Also in the first half of the 16th century the cathedral was enriched with several series of painted altarpieces commissioned to leading artists of the time, the most celebrated of which was Vasco Fernandes.

The outer, lateral walls of the church have a heavy, menacing appearance, typical of Portuguese mediaeval cathedrals, being partially decorated with merlons.

The three-storey façade resembles a Mannerist altarpiece and is decorated with niches harbouring statues of the Four Evangelists, as well as the Holy Mary and Saint Theotonius.