Teatro Dom Afonso Henriques

About

The Afonso Henriques Theatre (or Dom Afonso Henriques Theatre; Portuguese: Teatro Dom Afonso Henriques), was the main entertainment center of Guimarães from 1853 until its replacement by the Jordão Theatre in the late 1930s. Over its 90-plus years, the Afonso Henriques Theatre was the central venue for entertainment in Guimarães, hosting a wide variety of performances that fulfilled the cultural needs of the city. It remained the focal point for the city's events, including festivities and important community gatherings, until its successor was constructed in 1937. Its performances and shows influenced the development of the surrounding area, mainly by partly aiding the construction of the Santos Passos Church.

The building's facade was symmetrical and featured three stories. The ground floor consisted of a series of rectangular doorways, seven in total, each with a simple stone frame. The central doorway was more prominent as it featured a double-stone frame with a curved top. On the first floor, the central section had a square window surrounded by a strip of granite. Flanking this central section were three pairs of windows, each set within a granite frame. On top of them were small circular windows with a granite frame which connected with the square windows below. The second floor mirrored the first in its window arrangement, with rectangular windows above each of the lower floors. The central section had a balcony with an iron railing, supported by corbels and accessed by a door with a decorative stone frame. The outermost windows on this floor also featured iron railings and granite balconies. The roof was paved with roof tiles and it was separated from the facade by a cornice with two stone urns at its extremities. The central part was shaped like a semi-circle and it had a stone coat of arms under it. In its interior the theatre had two closed cabinets, 38 boxes in three levels, 176 audience seats and 60 gallery seats.

Before the construction of the theatre, the Count of Vila Pouca Theatre was located at the Campo da Feira. Shows and plays were performed regularly at this theatre to aid the construction efforts of the Santos Passos Church while under construction. The Count of Vila Pouca Theatre was destroyed in an act of arson on the night of 18 January 1841, leaving Guimarães without a permanent theatre. Even during its years of operation, the theatre had never been intended to serve the city’s growing population of roughly 7,000 residents at the time. Since at least 1836, the progressive circles of Guimarães had been advocating for a new theatre capable of meeting the cultural needs of an rapidly expanding urban community.

In 1853, construction of a new theatre started at the Campo da Feira after 12 years without a permanent theatre in the city. During its construction on 5 July 1854, five people died after an accident involving the collapse of the scaffolding. On 31 May 1855, it was reported the construction of the theatre was being accelerated so its inauguration could occur on the night of the succession of King Pedro V. This theatre was inaugurated with a masquerade ball on 12 August 1855, and was baptized with the name of Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, making official the name Theatro Dom Affonso Henriques, later modified due to various orthographic reforms.

The theatre, similar to its predecessor, also contributed to the completion of the Santos Passos Church by donating funds received from plays and magic lantern slide shows. On 22 April 1863, the play "O Veterano Mateus", the song "O Sebastianista", and the comedy "A Actriz" were played exclusively to raise money for the construction of the church's bell towers. Many were in attendance and the city's music played outside the theatre.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.