The monastery at Alcobaca, Portugal's largest church, was built after the Portuguese, led by Portugal's first king Afonso Henriques, were victorious over the Moors at the battle of Santarem. Construction started in 1153 and was complete in 1178.
We saw the tombs of Pedro and Ines, two of Portugal's famous lovers. Prince Pedro fell in love with his wife's Galician lady-in-waiting, Ines. Because the king was afraid of foreign influences, Ines was banished from the court. When Pedro's wife passed away, Pedro and Ines were secretly married and had two sons. The King, still fearful of Ines's family, had Ines murdered. When Prince Pedro ascended to the thrown, he had Ines's murderers killed and had her buried in Alcobaca. The feet of the Ines and Pedro face each other, so that on Judgement Day, when they rise up to Heaven, they do so facing each other.
Views of the Cistercian monastery.
Dining room.
Massive oven in the kitchen.
A section of the Alcoa River flows under the kitchen, bringing both fresh water and fish to the monastery.
Alcobaca is quite an impressive monastery!
The monastery at Batalha was built to commemorate the Portuguese victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Aljubarrota on August 14, 1385. King Joao de Avis, crowned only seven days prior, led the battle and drove out the superior Spanish army. The statue in the courtyard is of Nuno Alvares Pereira, who helped lead the Portuguese army at Aljubarrota.
The monastery is a combination of Gothic and Manueline styles and was built between 1388 and 1533.
Tomb of Henry the Navigator, though he is actually buried elsewhere.
Playing with light.
More images of the monastery.
Seven unfinished chapels, begun by Dom Duarte in 1435 and left roofless, possibly due to lack of funds, are quite impressive nonetheless.
King Duarte and Queen Leonor are entombed in the unfinished chapel, holding hands.
After all our sightseeing, we made it to our hotel outside Leiria, which had a lovely pool. Despite the chilly water temperature, all the boys eagerly jumped in for an afternoon of water fun.
It was the perfect way to relax after a busy day of sightseeing!
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