Explore an enormous convent founded using Knights Templar money.
The Convent of Christ (Convento de Cristo) is located on a hill overlooking the city of Tomar, Portugal (previous post). Once a Knight’s Templar strong hold, it became the mother convent for the Order of Christ in the 14th century.
The Order of the Knights Templar was suppressed Europe wide in 1314. In Portugal, their property was given to the new Order of Christ. This new order was strictly a religious order until Henry the Navigator was named the order’s administrator. The Order of Christ got very involved in the Portuguese explorations in the 15th century and became an arm of the Portuguese crown in administering their new colonies. The order’s wealth is clearly visible in its convent, which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Portugal as a lot of UNESCO sites.
It’s hard to describe how massive this complex is. The Templar Castle (closed for renovations when I went) is on the right. The Convent church is the roundish building in the middle and that is surrounded by several cloisters. It even had its own aqueduct.
I saw a little bit of the Templar Castle from the exterior.
A very simple entrance to the monastery. This side held the friars’ cells.
The visit starts in the 16th century sacristy. This wing had some of the cells used by the monks.
One of the two Gothic cloisters, the Cemetery Cloister. Constructed in 1420, it was built to house the remains the friars and high dignitaries of the Order of Christ. There is also another Gothic cloister called the Washing Cloister but it was closed.
I love this little tiled chapel of the cloister.
Very fancy.
There is also this hallway and door that leads off the cloister. It stood out because the tiles were different. Looking at a map, it seems like it leads to the main chapel.
Now for the Templar church.
It was constructed as a round church in the 12th century. The almost round design may have been influenced by the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
I was somehow able to mostly get this area to myself for a few minutes.
The wonderful paintings came after the Templar period. They were added during a 1499 renovation that expanded to the church.
The addition faced the Templar portion and had two levels. The lower level is a bit cavey. I’m not sure what it was used for. The upper level had a choir with soaring ceilings and giant windows. I somehow forgot to take a picture the upper level. Check it out here.
Gorgeous Manueline window. Manueline is basically a combination of Late Gothic and Renaissance styles, with a rope theme.
The Cloister of João III, one of the Renaissance era cloisters. They were much bigger and grander than the Gothic ones.
Two sides of the cloister were under scaffolding, but this weird angle gives you a good look at what it would have looked like.
Looking back at the church, you can really see the style difference between the Templar part and the Manueline part.
Now to head into the main dormitory. It was finished between 1543-1544 and contained 40 cells along a corridor and a wing. All the light came from this one window it seems.
The hallways were still dark though.
There is this little chapel where the three wings meet.
The center wing was a bit brighter.
The calefactory. It’s a heating room with a chimney and side benches, from where hot air was channeled into the friars’ cells.
It is a very big chimney.
Up to the roof, where you can see the magnificent chapel.
This Renaissance era cloister was used to house travelers temporarily, such as pilgrims, clergymen, nobles, and other friars. The top floor houses those with the highest social status. The cloister is referred to as the Hostelry Cloister or Cloister of the Inn.
Not bad up here.
Honestly, it’s really cute.
A closer look at that chapel.
What I didn’t notice at the time was the carved belt on the pillar on the right. L0ts of rope and chain imagery and, I guess, belts.
Now for a close up on the famous Manueline window. The style developed during the early days of the Age of Discovery, so nautical themes are common.
There used to be a small two story cloister here but later royal residents removed the top level so they caught see the chapel better. Understandable.
Headed downstairs to the Refectory, which was used for meals.
The little pulpits were used during mealtimes. One of the friars would read from religious books while the rest ate their meal.
Giant kitchen next door.
A giant reservoir is below one of the cloisters. It collected and stored water from the aqueduct that was built just for the convent.
The reservoir sits below the Cloister of Crows.
Passing through the kitchen once again. The white thing next to the fireplace is a bread oven.
The bottom floor of the Hostelry Cloister.
Such a cool place.
One last thing, the convent’s aqueduct, the Pegões Aqueduct. Since I rented a car I was able to see it outside of town and it’s amazing.
The convent had a really expensive water supply. In all, the aqueduct is about 6 km (3.7 mi) long and was built between 1593 and 1614. It would be completely connected to the convent a few years later.
On a hill nearby, the aqueduct gets shorter and you can check out one of the access towers.
You can even walk along on top of the aqueduct. (I didn’t) This is looking towards its starting point where the aqueduct was fed by 4 different springs.
The Convent of Christ is a splendid morning or afternoon visit. Eventually, the castle and gardens will be open, so more can be explored. It is perfectly paired with a visit to the rest of Tomar.
Stay tuned for my next update where I explore another gorgeous monastery!
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