Barcelos is a city in Barcelos Municipality in Braga District. The city has a population of 20,625.

History

Originally a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 settlement, it expanded and became the seat of the First Duke of Bragança in the 15th century. The palace of the Dukes of Bragança was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755

1755 Lisbon earthquake

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...

 and is now an open-air museum.

The town's famous symbol is a rooster

Rooster

A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...

, in Portuguese called o galo de Barcelos ("the Rooster of Barcelos"). One of the many versions of this legend goes that a rich man threw a big party. When the party was over, the rich man noticed that his sterling cutlery was stolen by a guest. He accused a pilgrim

Pilgrim

A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...

 and let him go to court. He protested his innocence, but the judge didn't believe him. The judge was about to eat a roasted rooster when the pilgrim said: "If I am innocent, this rooster will crow three times." When the pilgrim was about to be lynched, the rooster crowed. The judge released the pilgrim. The story ends a few years later when the pilgrim returned and made a statue over the event.

Sport

Barcelos is home to Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (football) and Óquei Clube de Barcelos

Óquei Clube de Barcelos

Óquei Clube de Barcelos is a rink hockey team from Barcelos, Portugal. It is one of the most successful rink hockey teams in Portugal and Europe. It is known and referred to as "Óquei de Barcelos", "OCB", "OC Barcelos", or just "Barcelos".-Foundation:...

 (rink hockey).

Twin Cities

Vierzon

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, France

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 Pontevedra

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, Spain

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 São Domingos

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, Marocco

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 Recife

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, Brazil

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, Bulgaria

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