Sinos da Igreja de Valhelhas, Portugal - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

Valhelhas Church is a very ancient temple, with a main altar and two side altars carved and gilded in the sixteenth century stye.
The side altars are of Our Lady of the Rosary, right, and the Altar of Souls on the left.

There are another two simple side altars, from a more recent construction, which are the Sacred Heart of Jesus, right, and of Our Lady of Fatima, on the left.

In the altarpiece of the main altar are the weapons of the Castros, six washers, and the same coat of arms is the angle of the west tower, which proves that these gentlemen belonged to the lordship of Valhelhas and its castle.

On the South side has a large sacristy that communicates with the churchyard. It has a granite pulpit, very crude, with ornaments in relief, dotted with bright colors make it even more crude. Below is based on a stone pillar and a side has the following inscription: "Anno Domini 1674 erectum."

Behind the high altar on the left, some are still visible traces of a primitive painting (fresco) representing the angel's Annunciation to Mary. At bottom right, rising one meter above the floor is on a platform with two steps, the baptismal font, large, chiseled granite, resting on a column of the same stone and covered with a wooden lid. Above is the choir and at the bottom are two confessionals.

The church, whose construction is commonly attributed to the Templar Knights has probably been founded before due to a Latin inscription engraved on the outside on the side door which says: "Mense Martie thousandth - Haec Ecclesia fuite sacrate two hundred "-" This church was sacred in the month of March in the year 1200 "(the era of Caesar and therefore in the year 1162 the time of Christ).

This information was found in the Junta de Freguesia website (like a city hall for smaller villages) but we didn´t find any information about the bells. They were probably placed in earlier years.

Address of Tower: Igreja Matriz de Valhelhas Praça Dr José de Castro Valhelhas, Portugal 6300 Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 2 Relevant website?: [Web Link] Rate tower: Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Unknown

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Date Logged Log   05/08/2010 manchanegra visited it