Museum Center of the Foundling Wheel

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Guarda > Almeida > Almeida > Centro Histórico de Almeida

Location

This space is integrated into the historical fabric of the village of Almeida, situated in Beira Alta. It is specifically located in the area surrounding the walls that characterize the fortified village, which gives it a unique setting and harks back to the atmosphere and social structure of past centuries.

A Past of Welcoming

The Foundling Wheel Museum preserves the memory of an institution dating back to 1843. It served as a place dedicated to welcoming children who, for various reasons, were left to fend for themselves. This social welfare service was crucial at the time, offering a safe alternative for newborns or abandoned children, ensuring their survival and basic care.

The Mechanics of Anonymity

At the heart of this museum space is the “Wheel” itself. It is an ingenious mechanism, usually a rotating wooden cylinder, which was placed in a strategic opening in the outer wall. This system allowed the person leaving the child to do so from the outside, placing them in the cylinder's opening, and by turning the “Wheel,” the child would become accessible from the inside, where they would be collected. This solution guaranteed the anonymity of the person delivering the child, avoiding social stigmatization at a time when abandonment was viewed with great disapproval.

Memory and Legacy

Visiting this interpretive center is an invitation to reflect on a lesser-known part of the social history and daily life in Almeida in the 19th century. It is known that a significant number of children from the village passed through this institution, possibly about one-fifth of the child population at the time. The site still retains many of the original objects that were part of its operation, helping to tell the story of these children and the system that welcomed them. Its importance is internationally recognized, having been integrated into an Ibero-American cultural heritage network dedicated to preserving these memories.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt