Along a route of approximately 80 km in central Portugal, there are three towns with one thing in common: they all have a remarkable architectural ensemble classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a testament to Portugal’s rich historical heritage.
The route can start in any of the cities, although it is more advisable to start in Alcobaca or Tomar, with Batalha as an intermediate stop.
Mosteiro de Alcobaca
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989.
This imposing monastery is one of the most impressive and beautiful examples of Cistercian architecture in all of Europe. The Abbey’s founding charter dates back to April 8, 1153, and despite its nearly 900 years, it maintains its medieval outbuildings intact. Its church is the first and largest in the early Gothic style built in Portugal during the Middle Ages.
Contemporaneous with the founding of Portugal, the Monastery also represents a bit of its history. Founded by the first king, Afonso Henriques, and immediately dedicated to Marian worship, it arose from the donation of the lands of Alcobaça to Bernard of Clairvaux and the Cistercian Order for their victory over the Moors in the conquest of Santarem.
Construction began in 1178 and was completed approximately 100 years later. At the time, master masons of the Cistercian Order experimented with a new “style” of construction—Gothic—introducing this architectural style to Portugal.
Mosteiro da Batalha
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Near the site of the Batalha Monastery, a decisive event occurred on August 14, 1385, for the consolidation of the Portuguese nation: King John, Master of Avis and future King of Portugal, defeated the Castilian armies at the Battle of Aljubarrota. This victory ended a dynastic crisis that had been lingering since 1383, with the death of King Ferdinand, whose only daughter was married to the King of Castile, a pretender to the Portuguese throne.
King John dedicated the monastery to the Virgin Mary, whom he had invoked to intercede for his triumph, and donated it to the Dominican Order, to which his confessor belonged. This was the reason for the birth of a project whose construction would last almost two centuries and which resulted in one of the most fascinating Gothic monuments in the Iberian Peninsula. The construction of the monastery also embodied the consecration of King John I as King of Portugal, thus establishing itself as a symbol of the new dynasty and legitimized by divine will.
Construction spanned seven reigns of the second dynasty (1385-1580) and involved a vast team of highly skilled master masons, both national and foreign, initially led by Afonso Domingues until his death in 1402. During this period, part of the church and the royal cloister were built. He was succeeded by Master Huguet, an Englishman, who completed the church, built the founder’s chapel, and began the pantheon of King Duarte by 1438. Between 1448 and 1477, Fernão de Evora designed the cloister of King Afonso V, and in the 16th century, Mateus Fernandes was responsible for the Imperfect Chapels.
Castelo Templario e Convento de Cristo de Tomar
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
The Templar Castle and Convent of the Knights of Christ of Tomar were originally built on a Roman site of worship. This vast monumental complex bears witness to seven centuries of Portuguese history and important moments in Western history.
At the very beginning of the kingdom of Portugal, D. Teresa and later her son, Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal, successively bestowed upon the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem vast areas of land between the Mondego and Tagus rivers. Legend has it that, on reaching this region, the Knights had the vision to choose a hill on which to establish a castle and the name that they were to give to it: Tomar. The year was 1160 and D. Gualdim Pais, the Provincial Master of the Order of the Temple, ordered the castle to be built and the region to be settled. This was the beginning of the town of Tomar.
In order to establish an easy cohabitation between the town and the convent of the Knights Templar, the castle was built in three distinct walled enclosures, surrounded by an extensive outer wall. The largest enclosure, which faced southwards, was the walled town, whose gateway overlooked the area known as Sete Montes. In the sixteenth century, the town was emptied of its inhabitants and transformed into kitchen gardens and orchards for the monks of the Order of Christ.
The round temple, built by the Templars, has its origins in the church that Emperor Constantine built over the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Over time, the enormous convent developed around the Templar church, including four large cloisters, the Manueline window, the Order’s infirmary, and the 6-kilometer-long aqueduct built by the Spanish king Philip III.
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Associado Nº 1.322