Location: Portugal, Alcobasa
Foundation date: XII century
Coordinates: 39 ° 32'53.8 "N 8 ° 58'47.1" W
Content:
Content:
The magnificent monastery of Alcobasa is the first Gothic building in Portugal. The Alcobasa Monastery is an important architectural and historical site for Portugal.
Alcobasa monastery from a bird's eye view
The history of the monastery of Alcobas
In the town of Alcobasa there is a monastery of the same name, which is the foundation of the Cistercian Order of Portugal. The founding of the monastery took place in 1153 by order of the King of Portugal Alfonso Henriques, who presented it as a gift to Bernard of Clairvaux... The construction of the monastery was to commemorate the victory over the Moors at Sanatamer, strengthen his power in the kingdom and expand the colonization of the regions that were in the possession of the Moors. The construction of the building of the monastery of Alcobasa begins in 1178.
The arrival of Cistercian monks in the Alcobasa area took place long before that, about 25 years before the start of construction work. Initially, the monks lived in wooden buildings for several decades. And already in 1223 they moved to the new buildings of the monastery, made of stone. It was they who had a significant impact on the development of Portuguese culture. The monks were the first to start giving public lessons. The construction of the church was completed in 1252. The completed monastery and church were the first buildings in Portugal to be built in the Gothic style.
View of the monastery church
The monastery is quickly becoming a significant site. The monastery owned extensive agricultural land. A public school was opened here. A large library was also located here. It was one of the largest libraries in Portugal at the time. The monks have recreated in many books the early authoritative history of Portugal. Manuscripts and books from this library are kept today in the National Library of the capital of Portugal - in the city of Lisbon.
This monastery served as a royal burial vault for two centuries. Many Portuguese kings were buried here, such as Afonso II, Afonso III, Pedro I.
Description of the monastery
The Alcobasa Monastery is an important landmark in Portugal. The reason for this is the very architecture of the Alcobas Monastery. The two wings of the main facade of the monastery are made in the Baroque style.
Central nave of the church
Between them is a church, the façade of which is a mix of styles, the door and window of which are part of the original church, and the statues and flanking towers were completed at the beginning of the 18th century. At the top of the façade is a narrow balcony supported by four statues that symbolize the main virtues: fortitude, justice, prudence and sobriety. In the building of the monastery of Alcobasa in the transept are the tombs of King Pedro I and Ines de Castro, his beloved... Both of these crypts represent the finest examples of Gothic sculpture in Portugal. The tomb of the king is supported by lions, the tomb of Inesh - by half-lion-half monk animals. The royal sarcophagus, its side faces are decorated with bas-reliefs with scenes from the life of St. Bartholomew. In the southern part of the transept there is a sculptural composition that depicts the death of St. Bernard. This is the finest work of the seventeenth century, created by the monks of the monastery. On the right side of the transept is the Royal Pantheon, which was destroyed in 1755 by the great Lisbon Earthquake and was subsequently rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style at the end of the 18th century. The earthquake of 1755 was very devastating.
The courtyard of the monastery
Much has been irretrievably lost. However, the monastery of Alcobasa stood the test. At the time of the earthquake, there were about three hundred monks living there. As a result of the earthquake, the sacristy was damaged, part of the service buildings and it was not possible to preserve the original appearance of the monastery. In addition, in the 19th century, the monastery was exposed to the actions of French troops. The library was plundered, the tombs of kings, artistic values were damaged, most of the manuscript works were burned.
Over time, restorers restored part of the monastery's architecture. The Hall of the Kings is located near the entrance to the church. There are statues depicting the kings of Portugal that adorn this room and date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The walls of the room tell the story of the Monastery of Alcobas with blue and white azuleijos tiles from the 18th century. Not far from the Hall is a Gothic-style bedroom in which all the monks slept together. Only the abbot was allowed to have his own room, and it was only in the 16th century that individual cells appeared.
Monastery garden
At the moment, the Alcobasa Monastery is of high historical importance. In 1989 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List to this day, it is considered one of the main tourist destinations in Portugal.
