It is located in the city of Alcobaça, in the district of Leiria, in the Central region of Portugal
The Alcobaça Monastery is the first fully Gothic work built in 1178 by the monks of the Cistercian Order.
In 1834, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery, following the decree suppressing all religious orders in Portugal, promulgated by Joaquim António de Aguiar, minister of ecclesiastical affairs and justice in the government of the regency of D. Pedro, Duke of Bragança.
At the end of the 10th century, a new Benedictine monastery was organized in Cluny, in Burgundy, which sought to fervently follow the Rule of St. Benedict. The Cistercian religious sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict to the letter, they wanted to live off their work and not accumulate wealth.
The 1st King D. Afonso Henriques, on April 8, 1153, founded the Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça and its Charter of Couto.
The donation of land to the Cistercian Order was a thank you from the monarch for their help in conquering Santarém from the Moors. During this period, the conquest of territories to the south and their respective settlement were decisive for the consolidation of Portugal as a country.
The construction of the temple began in 1178, taking as inspiration the abbey of Claraval (in France), seat of the Cistercian Order. The Alcobaça Monastery was thus built in a style called Primitive Gothic, which has its maximum exponent in the Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris.
One of the most impressive aspects of this monument is the simple and little-ornamented central nave, demonstrating the simplicity of medieval times.
At the Alcobaça Monastery it is also possible to talk about the greatest love story in the History of Portugal, the tragic passion of D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro is immortalized in that place, the tombs placed face to face so that the two lovers would meet again on Resurrection Day.
In medieval times, some rooms allow us to imagine what the daily life of the monks who lived there would be like: the refectory, the dormitory, the Chapter Room and the Cloister of D. Dinis from the 16th century and the Cardinal's Cloister, which is a tribute to Infante D. Henrique.
The complex baroque aesthetic with interesting spaces such as the New Sacristy, the Reliquary Chapel with 89 reliquary sculptures, the Exile Chapel with an interior covered in tiles with biblical episodes such as the Flight, the Return from Egypt and steps in the life of Jesus.
The first monks of Alcobaça, known as white monks, had a notable civilizing action, carrying out actions of assistance and charity through the apothecary (pharmacy), distribution of bread and alms at the entrance.
The monastery consists of a church next to the sacristy, to the north by three cloisters followed by each one surrounded in its entirety by two floors and by a wing to the south, the oldest cloister has two floors.
The buildings around the more recent cloisters have three floors and a presumed fourth cloister was discovered on the south side of the church (1998-2000), the cloister was flattened following the destruction caused by the 1755 earthquake and the great flood of 1774.
The complete building still today has a construction area of 27,000 m2 and a total floor area of 40,000 m2 and the built area together with the south cloister was 33,500 m2 in size and the main facade of the church monastery and the north and south wings is 221 m wide, with the north side being approximately 250 m.
In the years 1178 and 1240, the church and the first cloister were built in the pre-Gothic style, from the Romanesque period, and the Church was inaugurated in 1252 and is the first fully Gothic work built on Portuguese soil.
The buildings on the south side were probably built in the last third of the 16th century, the construction of the Levada Cloister began, which was connected to the medieval north cloister, and the Library or Rachadouro Cloister was built (17th century and the middle of the 18th century).
The Church consists of a central nave, two side naves, and a transept (cross) creating the image of a planted Latin cross and the naves are 20m high.
The main chapel is limited to the east by an ambulatory (charola), with nine radial chapels, the other four chapels facing the transept on both sides. The total length is 106 m, the average width is 22 m and the transept width is 52 m.
The architecture of the Alcobaça church is a reflection of the Benedictine rule in the search for modesty, humility, isolation from the world and service to God.
The Alcobaça Monastery with a Latin cross plan, the architectural design devoid of decoration inside and without images as ordered by the Cistercian Order presents an indisputable grandeur and beauty.
The central and side naves, entirely vaulted, are practically the same height, giving the sensation of ample space, to which the Romanesque lighting process gives little light and makes it larger.
The interior of the building demonstrates the existence of an advanced Gothic style, but the exterior of the building expresses Cistercian austerity oriented towards more pragmatic objectives.
In 1834, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery, following the decree suppressing all religious orders in Portugal, promulgated by Joaquim António de Aguiar, minister of ecclesiastical affairs and justice in the government of the regency of D. Pedro, Duke of Bragança.
At the end of the 10th century, a new Benedictine monastery was organized in Cluny, in Burgundy, which sought to fervently follow the Rule of St. Benedict. The Cistercian religious sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict to the letter, they wanted to live off their work and not accumulate wealth.
The 1st King D. Afonso Henriques, on April 8, 1153, founded the Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça and its Charter of Couto.
The donation of land to the Cistercian Order was a thank you from the monarch for their help in conquering Santarém from the Moors. During this period, the conquest of territories to the south and their respective settlement were decisive for the consolidation of Portugal as a country.
The construction of the temple began in 1178, taking as inspiration the abbey of Claraval (in France), seat of the Cistercian Order. The Alcobaça Monastery was thus built in a style called Primitive Gothic, which has its maximum exponent in the Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris.
One of the most impressive aspects of this monument is the simple and little-ornamented central nave, demonstrating the simplicity of medieval times.
At the Alcobaça Monastery it is also possible to talk about the greatest love story in the History of Portugal, the tragic passion of D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro is immortalized in that place, the tombs placed face to face so that the two lovers would meet again on Resurrection Day.
In medieval times, some rooms allow us to imagine what the daily life of the monks who lived there would be like: the refectory, the dormitory, the Chapter Room and the Cloister of D. Dinis from the 16th century and the Cardinal's Cloister, which is a tribute to Infante D. Henrique.
The complex baroque aesthetic with interesting spaces such as the New Sacristy, the Reliquary Chapel with 89 reliquary sculptures, the Exile Chapel with an interior covered in tiles with biblical episodes such as the Flight, the Return from Egypt and steps in the life of Jesus.
The first monks of Alcobaça, known as white monks, had a notable civilizing action, carrying out actions of assistance and charity through the apothecary (pharmacy), distribution of bread and alms at the entrance.
The monastery consists of a church next to the sacristy, to the north by three cloisters followed by each one surrounded in its entirety by two floors and by a wing to the south, the oldest cloister has two floors.
The buildings around the more recent cloisters have three floors and a presumed fourth cloister was discovered on the south side of the church (1998-2000), the cloister was flattened following the destruction caused by the 1755 earthquake and the great flood of 1774.
The complete building still today has a construction area of 27,000 m2 and a total floor area of 40,000 m2 and the built area together with the south cloister was 33,500 m2 in size and the main facade of the church monastery and the north and south wings is 221 m wide, with the north side being approximately 250 m.
In the years 1178 and 1240, the church and the first cloister were built in the pre-Gothic style, from the Romanesque period, and the Church was inaugurated in 1252 and is the first fully Gothic work built on Portuguese soil.
The buildings on the south side were probably built in the last third of the 16th century, the construction of the Levada Cloister began, which was connected to the medieval north cloister, and the Library or Rachadouro Cloister was built (17th century and the middle of the 18th century).
The Church consists of a central nave, two side naves, and a transept (cross) creating the image of a planted Latin cross and the naves are 20m high.
The main chapel is limited to the east by an ambulatory (charola), with nine radial chapels, the other four chapels facing the transept on both sides. The total length is 106 m, the average width is 22 m and the transept width is 52 m.
The architecture of the Alcobaça church is a reflection of the Benedictine rule in the search for modesty, humility, isolation from the world and service to God.
The Alcobaça Monastery with a Latin cross plan, the architectural design devoid of decoration inside and without images as ordered by the Cistercian Order presents an indisputable grandeur and beauty.
The central and side naves, entirely vaulted, are practically the same height, giving the sensation of ample space, to which the Romanesque lighting process gives little light and makes it larger.
The interior of the building demonstrates the existence of an advanced Gothic style, but the exterior of the building expresses Cistercian austerity oriented towards more pragmatic objectives.
The Classification of the Alcobaça Monastery
The Monastery was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1989 and on July 7, 2007 it was elected as one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
