Guimarães lies in the verdant Minho countryside to the north of Porto. Although essentially a medieval city, its origins go back to the 10th century, when Countess Mumadona Dias founded a monastery that became the centre of a new settlement.To help its defence, she ordered a castle to be built on the nearby hill, thereby creating a second development. A narrow avenue called the Rua de Santa Maria linked these two villages and still exists today.Afonso Henriques, son of a French crusader and Dona Teresa, the illegitimate daughter of the King of Castilla y León, was born in this castle in 1111, and it is from Guimarães that he began the project that would create the country of Portugal.He re-conquered territories occupied by the Moors, and on June 24 1128, his troops won a key battle that contributed towards the country’s independence. He became Portugal’s first King and Guimarães became known as the ‘Cradle City’.