Erasmus ın Guimarães: A short summary of Guimarães and the Unıversıty of Mınho

The main reason I wrote this series is the lack of information I experienced before I went to Guimarães.

First of all, the majority of the content of this series will serve people who go to Guimarães for Erasmus. I think it will be a great help for friends who will go to the cities around Braga and Guimarães or Erasmus throughout Portugal. To start with, I will write everything that comes to my mind about Guimarães in a series, and then consider cities such as Braga-Aveiro-Porto-Lisbon separately.

I will start by giving you some information from the city guide I have. Then the article will become more enjoyable.

Guimarães Castle

“In the light of the facts revealed, it is not surprising that Guimarães was accepted by the Portuguese as the birthplace of national identity! A unique and special city, Guimarães is distinguished by its magnificently restored heritage, cultural dynamics and sense of belonging to its people. On the one hand, if the restoration work and the renewal of its heritage caused UNESCO to define the Historical Guimara Center as a World Cultural Heritage in 2001, cultural facilities were valued in Guimarães both nationally and internationally, places it in a leading position in the fields of arts and entertainment. Guimarães, the European Capital of Culture in 2012 and the European City of Sports in 2013, offers an open space to the world today, as a tradition of in-depth dialogue and cultural practice. Crossing the squares and walking around the city streets will give you a unique experience of feeling like a real Vimaranense (residents of Guimarães are often called "Vimaranenses").

Welcome! "

Guimarães is a small city in the north of Portugal. Although small, it contains everything in the big city in terms of content. When I first came to the city, my impression was that it was green and historic. It was not only Guimarães, it was green, most of all the roads from the airport to Guimarães were green, maybe this might have a connection with the climate because the air temperature was reaching the lowest 0 degrees in the year. Of course, there are some criteria that we can only call climate. For example, the importance people give to green or their respect for nature. Most of the people living here are aware that they need nature. I can say that I did not see garbage on the street during the five months of my stay. On the other hand, when it comes to its history, I can say that the city is almost built of stone. In modern houses, workplaces, all pavements, stones are used, and so it seems like a whole. The buildings that destroy the integrity are located away from the city center. There is also the Guimarães fortress in the center of the city. The castle is described as the place where Portugal was founded, although it does not take up much space, its walls extend all the way to the city center and there is the following writing on the wall of one of the walls in the city center. Aqui Nasceu Portugal (Portugal was born here). Afonso Henriques, the founder of Portugal, is the person who won many victories with this castle and also gained independence to the Portuguese kingdom.

MINHO UNIVERSITY

It is a university that was founded in 1973 and can be considered young. Despite its age, it has become one of the most important Universities in Portugal.

The University of Minho consists of two campuses. If you are going to Guimarães, most of the numerical sections as well as engineering and architecture departments are located here. On the Braga campus, while there are verbal departments such as language and literature, there is also  a medical faculty. Braga and Guimarães are two very close cities. It is also a more developed city than Braga Guimarães. In terms of university facilities, the facilities of Braga campus are more and it is the main campus.

Transportation between campuses is made within universities. You can get your tickets from campus stationeries. Single ticket is 1.40 Euro and if you buy 5x Ticket it is 5.50 Euro

If you do not want to get inside the school, you can go using the public buses from the exit of both campuses. It is especially important to use these buses to visit Braga or visit Guimarães. Because the price is more than double with private buses.

You can find detailed information about transportation in the transportation article of the series.

You can use this link to access all the detailed information about the university.

https://www.uminho.pt/EN.

Erasmus generally consists of three stages:
Pre-Erasmus period
Erasmus period
Post-Erasmus period

In this series, I will first give information about the Erasmus Period.

The main topics of this series will be 'Erasmus period in Guimarães and Guimarães' as I mentioned above.

You can ask any questions about Portugal or Erasmus by e-mail.

  I thank once again the precious people who helped me before I went.