Museums

Guarda Museum

In the 1st floor of this museum we have the geographical-historical development from the region with presentation from several periods of influence: from the Palaeolithic to the Romanization, Middle Age and introduction to the Modern Age.
In here we can see several geological examples from the several periods, archaeological findings from the proto-historical periods, Romans, Suevos, Visigoths and Arabs, where we can see bronze axes, millstones, milliary marks, tombstones, Marialva jasper inscription, tear’s weights, sigillary earth, and the spectacular imperial torso form the 2nd century A.C. found in Povoa de Mileu, among others.
In the 2nd floor we can see samples from the economic, social and cultural life of the region. With utensils, vestments, habits, local handcraft, traditional plays from the pastoral life, milk products, farm life, etc. In the same floor there is a section dedicated to the sculptors from the district.

Guarda Museum
General Alves Roçadas Street
From 15/3 to 14/9: 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 18.00
From 15/9 to 14/3: 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 17.00
Closes on Mondays and Saturdays

Abel Manta Museum – Gouveia

The Abel Manta Municipal Museum of Modern Art was created in 1950, with the name of Gouveia Municipal Museum. The objective that lead to its institution consisted in reuniting in a unique space, the dining-hall and the contiguous patio of the old Gouveia College of the Santissima Trindade, an disperse set of material testimonies of this city’s past, which included archaeological parts, imaginary, armoury, paintings and numismatic.
In 1983 all this heap was reinstalled in a building of the 17th century, purposely acquire and re-qualified by the Municipal, the Ex-Solar dos Condes de Vinhó e Almedina. After few months, and in the sequence of some contacts made to the Architect João Abel Manta, the Comissão Instaladora of the period decided, with the Autarchy, to consecrate the ‘new’ Museum to the Portuguese modern art and pick to its patron this great artist from Gouveia.
The great deal of the initial heap would lead to the space that it had occupied in the first place, giving its place to the collection of contemporary paintings, engravings and sculptures that the Architect João Abel Manta has donated to the Institution. Its inauguration was in February 1985.

Abel Manta Museum
Direita Street, 45, Gouveia
Telephone: 238 490 219
From Tuesday to Sunday: 10.00 to 12.30 and 14.00 to 17.00
Free Entrance
Closes on Mondays

Wool Museum – Covilhã

The Wool Museum is located in Covilhã, in the University of Beira Interior installations (Polo 1).
Here we can see the work environments, the manufacture and also the industrial environment, persevered in situ, the three Covilhã’s factory spaces, a city that can be considered the birthplace of the wool industry in Portugal. In this sense, in the four kernels that compose the Wool Museum, was tried to give the visitors the direct contact with the preserved sources, from material and also immaterial nature from this activity.

Wool Museum – Covilhã

Marquês D’Ávila e Bolama Street, 6201-001 Covilhã
Telephone: 275 319 712/275 319 700 (ext. 3126)
Fax: 275 319 712
From Tuesday to Sunday: 09.30 to 12.00 and 14.30 to 18.00
Closes on Mondays (with exception if they are holidays), and in the holidays of 1st of January, 1st of May, and the 25th of December.

São Jorge da Beira Museum

The objectives that led to the foundation of the São Jorge da Beira Museum come from the necessity to preserve the culture connected to the habits of the ancestors that, with the actual generations, started to be forgotten.
Placed in the southeast extreme of Serra da Estrela, the parish of São Jorge da Beira has always been associated to the wolfram mining exploitation from the Panasqueira Mines. Its active masculine population was constituted by miners, while the women had the farm and subsistence works.
From this resulted strong ties, whether they are gastronomic, philanthropic, linguistic, urbanity or architectonic. In this context, there were reunited all the necessary conditions to the creation of a museum, because there still exists a diversity of pieces that characterise the past and the modus vivendi of the parish’s population.
Architectonic and patrimonial traces, of the habits related to the way as the population lived, particularly the way they dressed, their gastronomy, linguistic pronunciation, as well a every other aspects related to the origins of the parish, can be seen by the visitors.
The conditions to the valorisation and revitalisation of traditions, the work environment in Panasqueira Mines, the semi-precious stone samples and their main resource – the wolfram -, musical instruments, artifices, kitchen utilities, outfits, agricultural ornaments, mining equipment, tools, furniture, porcelains, glasses, coins, stamps, etc, were guaranteed.

Contacts
Direita Street 6225 São Jorge da Beira
Telephone: 275 665 204

Museu do Pão – Seia

The Museu do Pão is a museum complex where the traditions, history and art from the Portuguese bread are exhibited and preserved. With over 3500m2 the visitor can see a set of activities destined to the culture, pedagogy and leisure. Throughout four exposition rooms and several other spaces from the museum complex, you can see the ancient knowledge and tastes from this Portuguese land.
There are several exposition rooms: bread cycle; political/religious bread; bread’s art and a pedagogical room – infantile space where children can be in direct contact with the way the bread is produced.
There is also an ancient grocery where you can get typical products and warm bread.

Museum timetable: from 10.00 to 18.00. It closes on Mondays.

Normal ticket – 2€
Youth ticket from ages 3 to 12 – 1€
Retired ticked (from the age of 65) – 1 €
Children (till the age of 3) – Free
Telephone to book group tours – 238 310 760/61/62

Farmer and Cheese Museum – Celorico da Beira

In honour to the shepherd/farmer, the Autarchy recovered an ancient building located in one of the village entrances to put there the Museum.
This museum can be inserted in a valorisation optic of this product, which has connected to it a ‘course’ from the Queijo da Serra da Estrela.
The museum wants to transmit to this generation and the future ones, the richness and the multifaceted character from the region’s culture, achieved with a big effort, suffering and many times even hunger. The Museu do Agricultor e do Queijo, has as objective to keep alive the region traditions, throughout a living space, showing and demonstrating how did the people live and produced some of their products and, particularly, the famous ‘Queijo da Serra da Estrela’. One of the activities integrated in the core of this museum path is to show the millenary art of producing the artesian cheese.
To see how the cheese is made In Loco, the better thing to do is to visit a cheese factory. In Celorico there are several that have group visits. The Museum proper services have the way so that you can see how the cheese is made ‘Live’. If you want to taste and buy the cheese, then the best thing to do is to go to Solar do Queijo, which is located in a beautiful building in the historical zone of Celorico, near the castle.

Estrada Nacional 17, Loteamento Quinta dos Centros – Celorico da Beira
Telephone: 271 743 777
From Monday to Saturday, from 9.00 to 12.30 and 14.00 to 17.30