Considered the heart of the city nowadays, in the 17th century it was a square outside the main gate of the city, where cattle fairs and other fairs selling various products were held. In the 18th century, at the behest of
Queen Maria I, the old medieval wall was demolished (all that is left of that section is the Alfândega Tower but other parts of the wall are still standing) and houses following the
Pombaline style were built on that site. In 1791, the Town Hall granted the land next to the wall for the construction of buildings, which were later built according to a new type of plan that had possibly come from
Lisbon following the
1755 earthquake, thus determining the beginning of the slow transformation of the Toural. In the second half of the century, a
public garden was built, surrounded by
iron railing and stone walls, which opened in 1878. performing a
drill in a building that is now the
Caixa Geral de Depósitos, 1908 Urban furniture was created for this space in keeping with the new iron architecture: a
bandstand, urinal, benches and lamps. With the
establishment of the Republic, the public garden was destroyed and transferred to another location, that were very controversial amongst the inhabitants of
Guimarães. ==St. Peter's Basilica==