Category: Civil Architecture > Street
District: Braga > Braga > Braga > Senhor da Veiga
Located in the neighbourhood of Senhor da Veiga, south of Braga's historic centre, the street extends along a north-south axis that begins near the old Campo de Santiago and approaches the Pelames bridge, where once the road to Guimarães started. Its layout runs parallel to the old city wall, allowing for an understanding of the transition between the intra-mural housing and the suburban expansion of the 16th to 18th centuries. Today, it maintains a quiet residential atmosphere, punctuated by low granite buildings and sections of the convent wall that lend a secluded character to the ensemble.
The thoroughfare was opened in the 16th century at the initiative of Archbishop-Cardinal Infante D. Henrique, with the purpose of connecting the newly created Seminário de São Tiago to the Pelames bridge. In 1625, the foundation of the Convento da Conceição, whose nuns were known as “Concepcionist nuns”, decisively marked the area then designated as Campo das Freiras. Throughout the 18th century, Archbishop D. Rodrigo de Moura Teles sponsored important works on the church and convent buildings, led by master Manuel Fernandes da Silva. The street consolidated as a corridor for access to the city, flanked by houses largely belonging to the Cabido (Cathedral Chapter), some of which still display painted letters on their door lintels.
Granite paving, two-storey facades, and aligned openings compose an image of unity that survives despite successive alterations. Approximately half of the buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries, coexisting with simpler 19th-century constructions. The presence of the long, blind wall protecting the convent's enclosure creates sections of narrow and shady street, contrasting with small recesses where trees and wildflowers appear. It is a quiet stretch, ideal for walking with attention to the details of stonework, wrought-iron railings, and old inscriptions.
The church of the old convent dominates the landscape. The whitewashed facade is pierced by quadrangular gridded windows, framed by stone mouldings. The main portal, in restrained Baroque style, features robust Tuscan columns, an entablature with a plain frieze, and a scalloped pediment integrating a niche with Marian imagery; above the finial, two stone sculptures stand guard over the entrance. The carved wooden door displays geometric panels with relief carvings, revealing artisanal mastery. Inside, not visible from the exterior, altarpieces carved in 1733 by Pedro Salvador and Lisbon azulejo panels dating from around 1750, dedicated to episodes of Marian iconography, are preserved.
Although the process of classification as a national ensemble was archived in 2010, the street and the convent retain high local and regional interest. They constitute a rare testimony to the 16th-century suburban expansion combined with successive Baroque interventions, preserving the entirety of the conventual enclosure, a unique case in the city. The reading of the facades, the marks of the Cabido on the doorjambs, and the coexistence of architectural languages offers a living narrative of Braga's urban evolution between the 16th and 19th centuries.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.5454407,-8.4259799
Coordinates DMS: 41°32'43.6"N 08°25'33.5"W
Weather Braga
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