Portugal - Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone (extension)

The Couros (Leather) Zone is an urban area where tannery was manufactured over several centuries. It is known that this production operation was developed in the 10th century and, in this regard, its history will be intrinsically linked to the dawn of Portugal’s nationhood. In fact, understanding the development of the Historic Centre of Guimarães cannot be separated from this area and from these operations implemented on the lower part of the town, near the Couros River. They are part of the same system, comprising the fertile fields downriver and the water sources from the surrounding hills. Tannery manufacturing areas had a particular impact (and, from a landscape standpoint, still do), as they were gradually decommissioned as of the mid-20th century, until they finally became extinct. Unlike what happened throughout most of the world Guimarães has preserved a great deal of material evidence of this ancestral activity, uncommon proof of a scale of production that strongly impacts the way the historical urban landscape is read and interpreted.