Alcobaça
Encyclopedia
Alcobaça Municipality
Alcobaça Municipality contains the city of Alcobaça. It is located in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province...
in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers Alcoa and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality has a total population of 55,269 inhabitants and a total area of 408.1 km². The city itself has a population of 15,800 inhabitants.
The city of Alcobaça became notable after the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, decided to build there a church to celebrate the conquest of Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
to the Moors, in 1147. The church later evolved into the Monastery of Alcobaça
Monastery of Alcobaça
The Alcobaça Monastery is a Mediaeval Roman Catholic Monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal. It was founded by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.The church and monastery...
, one of the most magnificent gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
monuments in the country. In the church are the tombs of King Peter I
Peter I of Portugal
Peter I , called the Just , was the eighth King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1357 until his death. He was the third but only surviving son of Afonso IV of Portugal and his wife, princess Beatrice of Castile....
and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro
Inês de Castro
Inês Peres de Castro was a Galician noblewoman born of a Portuguese mother...
. Over the centuries this monastery had an important role on Portuguese culture.
A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is located the Monastery of Batalha, another wondrous gothic building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of Aljubarrota
Battle of Aljubarrota
The Battle of Aljubarrota was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its...
. To the west of Alcobaça is the well-known former fishing village of Nazaré
Nazaré, Portugal
Nazaré is a town in Nazaré Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 82,4 km² and a total population of 14,904 inhabitants. It is in subregion Oeste and Leiria district....
,now a town. To the south is the city of Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha is a city in western central Portugal. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste...
and the quaint medieval town of Óbidos that is an attraction for any tourists that enjoys a true glimpse of the past. Also to the northeast is the town of Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós is a town in Porto de Mós Municipality in Portugal....
with its fanciful rebuilt castle.
History
A town that only became notable in the 12th century when it became the site for the construction of Portugal's largest church. In the month of March in 1147 the fledgling King, Dom Afonso Henriques, defeated the Moors by capturing the city of SantarémSantarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
. As a suitable memory to this splendid victory he vowed to build a magnificent home for the Order of Cistercians. It took another 76 years before this task was completed. The monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
continued to endow the Monastery of Alcobaça
Monastery of Alcobaça
The Alcobaça Monastery is a Mediaeval Roman Catholic Monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal. It was founded by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.The church and monastery...
with further construction and 60 years later King Dinis built the main cloister but it was only in 1252 that the Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
was inaugurated within the church.
In the church are the tombs of King Peter I
Peter I of Portugal
Peter I , called the Just , was the eighth King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1357 until his death. He was the third but only surviving son of Afonso IV of Portugal and his wife, princess Beatrice of Castile....
and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro
Inês de Castro
Inês Peres de Castro was a Galician noblewoman born of a Portuguese mother...
and with it the story of the tragic liaison between Pedro and his ever-lasting love for Inês. Forced at an early age by royal duty he had to marry Constanza, the Infanta (Princess) of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
. She died within a short time of the marriage ceremony and created the opportunity for Dom Pedro to escape with his true love and live in the city of Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
. King Afonso IV
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
his father, believing that the family of Inês to be a threat to his own kingdom had her murdered. Shortly after the death of his father Dom Pedro declared that he had married Inês in a prior secret ceremony in Bragança, promptly taking revenge on the killers in a very gruesome manner and exhumed her body. He presented the embalmed corpse at court with a crown on her head and demanded that all his courtiers kneel and individually pay homage to her decomposed hand. Today, their ornate tombs face each other so that on Judgment Day his first sight would be of his beloved Inês.
During the following centuries the monks from this monastery had an influencing effect on Portuguese culture. Notably, in 1269 they were the first to give public lessons to their flock, and later they produced the authoritative history on Portugal in a series of books. In 1810 the invading French pillaged the Abbey taking with them most of the many treasures including a noteworthy library. Whatever the items remaining were then later stolen in 1834 during an anti-clerical riot and the extinction of religious Orders in Portugal.
City information
The main feature of the city is essentially the Monastery that proudly presents a long and sombre façade with 18th Century embellishments. This austerity is further emphasized in the cloisters with its apt name of "Cloister of Silence". In contrast within the Abbey is the massive kitchen with a running stream specially diverted to pass through as a supply of fresh water. The open area of the kitchen chimney is large enough to take a whole ox for roasting. The surround to the sacristy doorway is an outstanding example of ManuelineManueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
decoration. In 1794, Lord Beckford visited the Abbey and commented that he found some 300 monks "living in a very splendid manner"!
Nearby locations
A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is another wondrous building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of AljubarrotaBattle of Aljubarrota
The Battle of Aljubarrota was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its...
in 1385, when Dom João I
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
defeated the Castilians and ensuring two hundred years of independence from the Spanish invaders. The construction of the Abbey at Batalha
Batalha
Batalha is a town located in the Batalha Municipality in Leiria District, Pinhal Litoral Subregion, Centro Region, with 7,500 inhabitants.It is the seat of the municipality of the same name with 103.56 km² of area and 15,002 inhabitants , subdivided into 4 parishes Batalha is a town...
commenced in 1388 and was added to by various Portuguese Kings over these next two centuries. To the east of Batalha is the world famous location of Fátima
Fatima
-People:* Fatima , a female given name of Arabic origin* Fatima bint Muhammad, daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad* Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah...
and a point of pilgrimage for the Roman Catholic religion due to the vision of the Virgin Mary
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
in 1917 by three young children whilst tending their flock. To the west of Alcobaça is the well-known fishing village of Nazaré
Nazaré, Portugal
Nazaré is a town in Nazaré Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 82,4 km² and a total population of 14,904 inhabitants. It is in subregion Oeste and Leiria district....
. Today, the village is now a small town and a popular holiday resort with most of its past and traditions having rapidly evaporated in the course of time. A very successful Portuguese feature film was made in the early 20th century that dramatically captured the primitive and dangerous life of these fishermen. Stoutly Catholic, the inhabitants have retained some of their past as can be still seen in their own particular style of costume. To the south is Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha is a city in western central Portugal. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste...
and the quaint medieval town of Óbidos that is an attraction for any tourists that enjoys a true glimpse of the past. Also to the south is the town of Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós is a town in Porto de Mós Municipality in Portugal....
with its fanciful rebuilt castle. This town borders the Nature Reserve Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros. These 390 square kilometres of limestone-covered landscape is also known for its underground caverns. The best known being the Grutas de Mira de Aire
Gruta de Moinhos Velhos
The Gruta de Moinhos Velhos, is one of the most important cave systems known in the Portuguese Maciço Calcário Estremenho, with about 9 km in extension...
can be visited and consists of tunnels, caverns with stalactites, stalagmites, lakes, and a music and light finale.
Major events
- Carnaval de Alcobaça - February
- Alcobaça music festival - May
- Saint BernardBernard of ClairvauxBernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
's fair - August 20 - Municipal holiday - August 20
- Saint SimonSimon the ZealotThe apostle called Simon Zelotes, Simon the Zealot, in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13; and Simon Kananaios or Simon Cananeus , was one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus. Little is recorded of him aside from his name...
's fair - 4th week of October - Market days - Every Monday
- International display of Sweets and Conventual Liqueurs - November
General information
- Postal code - 2460
- Altitude - 42 m
- Distances:
- LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
- 109 km - SantarémSantarém (district)The District of Santarém is located in Centro Region, Portugal, the district capital is the city of Santarém.It has an area of 6747 km² , and a population of 475,344 inhabitants.-Municipalities:...
- 59 km - LeiriaLeiriaLeiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
- 40 km
- Lisbon
Twin towns — Sister cities
Alcobaça is twinned with:Bełchatów, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...