Thursday 3 September 2015

Monastery of Alcobaça

The second UNESCO site that we visited in our 2010 tour was the Monastery of Alcobaça

Monastery of Alcobaça

The Alcobaça Monastery (PortugueseMosteiro de AlcobaçaMosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Alcobaça, in Oeste Subregion. The monastery was founded in the medieval period by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.


Monastery of Alcobaça

The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, it was one of the most important of the mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. - in: wikipedia

Monastery of Alcobaça and Tombs of D. Pedro and Inês
This postcard was sent by Ana "galueth28". I really wanted this card because it shows the amazing tombs of D. Pedro and Inês.

In the transept of the church are located the tombs of King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro, who was assassinated, in 1355, under the orders of Peter's father, King Afonso IV. After becoming King, Pedro ordered the remains of his beloved to be transferred to her tomb in Alcobaça and, according to a popular legend, made her be crowned as Queen of Portugal and ordered court members to pay her homage by kissing her decomposing hand.
This pair of Royal tombs in Alcobaça, of unknown authorship, are among the best works of gothic sculpture in Portugal. The tombs are supported by lions, in the case of the King, and half-men half-beasts, in the case of Ines, and both carry the recumbent figures of the deceased assisted by a group of angels. The sides of Pedro's tomb are magnificently decorated with reliefs showing scenes fromSaint Bartholomew's life, as well as scenes from Pedro and Ines' life. Her tomb is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ, including the Crucifixion and with the Last Judgement. - in: wikipedia

Monastery of Alcobaça - Cloister
This postcard was sent by José "PilotOne" with a wonderful stamp of another Portuguese UNESCO site.

The cloister of the monastery was built during the reign of, and sponsored by, King Dinis I. It is one of the largest mediaeval Cistercian cloisters in Europe. Its columns are decorated by capitals with animal and vegetal motifs. The builder was the Portuguese architect Domingo Domingues. The Gothic Fountain Hall has an elegant early renaissance water basin inside, decorated with renaissance motifs including the coat-of-arms of the monastery and reliefs of gryphs. The second floor of the cloister, in manueline style as revealed by its typical twisted columns, was built in the early 16th century. - in: wikipedia

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