Barcelos stands on the banks of the Cávado river in the Minho, between Braga and the coast. It is a lively town rich in traditions, known worldwide for one symbol: the Barcelos rooster, which from airport souvenirs to tea towels has become the emblem of Portugal.
The legend of the rooster
According to legend, a Galician pilgrim on his way to Santiago de Compostela was wrongly accused of theft in Barcelos and sentenced to hang. Before dying he asked to be taken before the judge, who was at a banquet, and pointing to a roast rooster on the table said: "It is as certain that I am innocent as that this rooster will crow when they hang me." At the moment of execution the rooster rose from the plate and crowed, and the pilgrim was saved. The Cruzeiro do Senhor do Galo, a fourteenth-century stone cross kept in the archaeological museum, is said to commemorate the episode.
The Thursday market
Every Thursday the vast Campo da República hosts the Feira de Barcelos, one of Portugal's largest and oldest weekly markets, with hundreds of stalls of fruit, vegetables, animals, tools, clothes and above all crafts: pottery, baskets, embroidery and roosters of every size.
Pottery
Barcelos is the main centre of Portuguese folk figurative pottery, figurado, with brightly painted clay figures: nativity scenes, saints, musicians, fantastic animals and devils. The most famous potter was Rosa Ramalho (1888-1977), who created fantastic and slightly unsettling figures. The Pottery Museum has a rich collection. In 2017 UNESCO recognised Barcelos as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art.
The town
The medieval bridge over the Cávado links Barcelos with Barcelinhos. Above the river are the ruins of the fifteenth-century palace of the Counts of Barcelos, now an open-air archaeological museum, and the Gothic mother church, with azulejos. The Baroque, centrally planned church of Bom Jesus da Cruz is the heart of the Festival of Crosses in early May, with flower carpets and fireworks. Barcelos lies on the Portuguese Way of St James and is reached by train from Porto (about an hour) or by car; Braga is 20 kilometres away.