Last year around Christmastime, we put together a house-gift to ourselves. It’s not very fancy, in fact it starts with an empty pretzel container from Continente. Inside this container our numerous folded slips of paper. Written inside the fold is an activity in or around Braga – a place to visit, perhaps a lunch spot picked out (we’re much happier when we aren’t picking out a restaurant spur-of-the-moment). The sheets are taped shut (this isn’t a high tech operation), and on the outside of the paper there is general information: how long does it take, is it walking/bus ride/ride share, is there a meal involved, and does weather or season matter. We call this little plastic barrel our “Jar of Wonders”, and every once in awhile we draw until we get something that fits our day, and off we go! One of our earliest pulls was a few months ago, when we visited the Sé de Braga, a Roman Catholic Church that predates the founding of Portugal. From time to time, we are reminded of how very *old* the country we live in is

The civitas (roughly, city) Bracara Augusta was founded by the Romans in 16 BC and the Diocese of Braga dates from the 3rd century AD, being one of the oldest in the Iberian peninsula. In 1071 Bishop Pedro began building the cathedral (Sé) and it was consecrated while still unfinished in 1089. Building continued through he 13th century. The Kingdom of Portugal was officially recognized in 1179. And that’s enough history.

What makes the Sé so fascinating is that it is a gorgeous hodgepodge of architectural styles. The original 12th century-building was built in the Burgundian Romanesque style, but later construction added Gothic (chapels and entrance), Moorish, Manueline (main chapel) and Baroque (towers, chapels, and loads of interior decoration)elements.

Here is a collection of pictures we took as we wandered through, enjoying so many elements.

Throughout the interior are the remains of several important people, including D. Afonso, the son of King John I and what purports to be Saint Peter of Rates. (Modern science suggests that it’s actually the body of a child from the 9th century.)

There is an excellent museum upstairs, and most of the signage is in both English and Portuguese. There are a number of tours that include a visit to the Sé, and we highly recommend including this magnificent and beautiful historic site in your visit.