Monastery of Alcobaça
The foundation of the Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça and the respective Charter of Couto date from April 8, 1153. The Monastery of Alcobaça was founded on a small alluvial-sedimentary platform created at the confluence of two water lines, the Alcoa and Baça Rivers.
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, also known as the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça or more simply as the Monastery of Alcobaça, is the first fully Gothic work erected on Portuguese soil.
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça is one of the first Cistercian monastic foundations built in Portuguese territory (12th century). The medieval dependencies, which are still preserved, make the Monastery of Alcobaça a unique complex in the world, to which wereadded the later buildings, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, as an important testimony of the evolution of Portuguese religious architecture. Here, the Manueline and Baroque styles meet, highlighting the medieval epigraphy, where the altarpiece depicting the death of St. Bernard stands out. The church, 100 meters long, represents the largest Gothic religious space in the country and its plan, in the shape of a Latin cross, includes an Ambulatory that includes nine radiant chapels.
The transept of this temple currently houses the tombs of D. Pedro and D. Inês. Highlights include the Relicário and Desterro chapels and the medieval buildings; Chapter Room, Refectory, Monks' Room, Bedroom, Kitchen, and Cloisters (the Cloister of Silence is the largest Portuguese medieval cloister).
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Elements of interest:
- Church
- Sanctuary of the sacristy
- Visitable enclosure of the monastery (cloister of D. Dinis and juxtaposed compartments, including the refectory and kitchen)
- Tombs of D. Pedro I and D.ª Inês de Castro
Visiting hours:
- Every day from 9 am to 5 pm.
- Open at lunchtime
- Free church visit
- For a visit to the monastery, the ticket office closes at 4 pm.
Opening hours: October to March from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (last entry at 4:30 pm)
April to September from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm (last entry at 6:30 pm)
The ticket office closes 30 minutes before the monument closes.
Closure:
January, 1st
Easter Sunday
May, 1st
December 25th
Thematic Visits
by appointment