Viseu Cathedral

Viseu Cathedral began to take shape in the 12th century as a Romanesque building. The current Gothic cathedral, whose construction began in the 13th century, followed the lines of the original Romanesque building, thus endorsing a Romanesque, rather than Gothic, style that is typically spacious. In the Manueline period, the cathedral of Viseu interventions were undertaken inside and in the cloister. In the 17th century, the façade fell down and had to be repaired, and the choir was also renovated.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture
  • Monuments
  • Interior features

Visitors information

  • Café within 500m

Other nearby buildings

Wikimedia Commons/Halley Oliveira

Church of Mercy

The construction of the Church of Mercy began in 1775, with master mason António da Costa Faro being responsible for the work and possibly also for the design of the rococo façade. The sculptural group of the Visitation, by the Visigoth sculptor José Monteiro Nelas (1875), and the paintings Visitation and Our Lady of Sorrows (1885), by the painter also from the same town, António José Pereira (1821-1895), stand out in the church.

Wikimedia Commons/Concierge.2C

Carmo Church

The Church of the Venerable Third Order of the Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo dates from the end of the 18th century. The Church was created as a result of a disagreement between the friars of the Franciscan Order. The unfortunate Franciscan friars abandoned the Capuchin friars and, with the support of the Discalced Carmelites, decided to create the Third Order of Mount Carmel. They proceeded to elect the Table of the Order and in 1735 the foundations of the new church were laid. The ceiling of the high choir was painted in 1862 by the painter Viseense António José Pereira.

Wikimedia Commons/Vitor Oliveira

Church of the Major Seminary

The church of the Major Seminary of Viseu is part of what was, until 1841, the Convent of the Neris. The church itself dates back to the beginning of the 18th century, in the Baroque period. Its greatest treasure is its monumental pipe organ at the top of the choir, in neoclassical style, which was transferred from Viseu Cathedral to the Major Seminary Church in the 1960s and is currently being restored.