Forum and Mergulho Fountain

This stone construction with the town’s coat of arms was a meeting place for the good men of Linhares, where administrative, legislative and judicial decisions were made, giving its governance an individual nature. At these meetings the officers and men of Linhares acted in accordance with the charter that Linhares had received. Its oldest charter was granted by King Afonso Henriques in 1169 and followed the lines of Salamanca charters. In the early 16th century, King Manuel reformed charters and Linhares received a new one in 1510. The meeting place, or forum, is a unique monument in Portugal. It is located in Largo do Pelourinho and is built of granite with three steps. Inside is a table surrounded by benches with the Linhares coat of arms behind. It was once closed in by a wooden wall covered by tiles to protect the men making decisions there. It is interesting to see that it sits on a spring with an ogival arch with a vault inside.