Explore one of the most important monasteries in all of Portugal!
Established in the 12th century, the Monastery of Alcobaça was one of the most important monasteries of Portugal. It was founded by King Alfonso I in 1153 and the monastery continued to have a close relationship with the monarchy. By the 13oos, the monastery had over 1,000 resident monks. So it was a big deal.
Today, only a portion of the monastery is open to the public. This includes the first cloister, attached buildings, and the church. The back two cloisters are from a later period, the 16th and 17-18th centuries and generally held cells and work areas for monks and residences for lay people. The middle cloister from the 16th century has a formal garden in it. It doesn’t look like it has public access.
The biggest and newest cloister now houses a 5 star hotel and probably the only 5 star hotel I will ever stay at. It was January so the prices were really low and not too much more than somewhere else in town. The place was extremely minimalistic, even for a monastery. But the hotel did have the best breakfast I had in Portugal. They have mini-pastries, so you can try them all. Best thing about the place. Second best, first best it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, too. I basically collect them at this point.
That top cloister is now the hotel. I love these models. The little cloister on the bottom left was used for laypersons and storerooms.
Yep, pretty boring. The room was mostly empty. Two cells were combined to make a room.
Back to the not boring part.
The monastery is so wide, it’s going to take three pictures with a wide angle lens to get it all. This is the part of the monastery that you can visit. It’s the most exciting part.
The church lies in the center of two wings. It is one of the first Gothic churches in Portugal. By the time construction finally started, a new style had come about. It took about a hundred years from the time the monastery was founded until the church was complete.
The South Wing is no longer connected to a cloister. It’s cloister may have been demolished due to the 1755 earthquake. They know there was one, but don’t know what happened to it. I have no idea what the wing is used for these days.
Heading into the cloister and we see the tiniest door ever. It connects to the refectory where the monks ate. They would hand out food to the poor from this door. I did not take a picture of the door from the other side. I just thought it was a weird door, not the story behind it.
A bit of Romanesque and Gothic here.
The Cloister of King Dinis, a.k.a. the Cloister of Silence. It was the central area around which the monastery was arranged. The original cloister was replaced by the current one started in 1308. The upper levels were added in the late 15th centuryish.
The Refectory. This is the fanciest refectory I have ever seen. It was used to daily meals by the monks who ate in silence. They would listen to a reading of a religious text by someone standing in the pulpit on the left.
Really ornate for a pulpit that is basically in a cafeteria. The small door is on the wall to the left of the pulpit.
There were only a few families in the monastery with me, so I went out of my way to get pictures without any other people in it. So therefore, my pictures are all jumbled up. Thankfully, Google Maps has street view of this place. Check it out. These rooms are still not going to be in the normal visitation order.
Right across the doorway to the Refectory is the fanciest wash basin ever.
This was not no mere fountain. It was where the monks washed their hands before meals. The water is brought in by pipes. The monks were part of the Cistercian order. They are known for their wash basins. They went a bit overboard with this one.
Next to the refectory is the kitchen. It’s a bit unusual. It was constructed in the 18th century in the old warming room, the calefactory. This replaced the old small kitchen.
The fireplace/chimney in the center of the room is a bit unique.
But it did have running water.
Now for the Monk’s Hall. This is where the scriptorium of the monastery was. Before the invention of the printing press, scriptoriums were like factories to create books. This was a common task undertaken by monks. The room was well lit with multiple windows. The ones on the right were covered when the current kitchen was built.
Now upstairs in the communal dormitory. It had direct access to the church. Most of the monks would have slept in this one room, with only partitions separating them. A short second level was constructed within this room for the Novices in the 15th century. Newer additions to the monastery added cells for the monks, after which this room was used for other purposes.
The second floor was connected to the kitchen by this death staircase. I took this picture from the opposite side of the death staircase.
There is a window up top that you can see the kitchen from the dormitory.
The opposite side of the death staircase is the only entryway into the top level of the cloister. It’s so weird. Except for the arches, this level of the cloister is fairly plain. It was probably reserved for the monks.
Some great views of the cloister from up here.
Also some good views of the awesome gargoyles. I think this is supposed to be a flying pig.
The grand entrance to the chapter house. This is where the monastic community would gather and discus matters.
The front of the doorway has some carvings.
The abbots of the monastery were buried under the chapter house floor. Most have been removed but this tombstone still remains.
It’s a large room capable of fitting 200 people.
There was probably more room out in the cloister.
Fantastic monastery.
A very good cloister.
Some of the capitals are very elaborate.
The Hall of Kings, a former 18th century church that holds sculptures of some of Portugal’s kings, said to have been made by monks at the monastery.
One last site to see on this visit, the church.
Let’s just say it’s gorgeous. It’s also separate from the museum (monastery) and still functions as a normal church today.
It is based on French monastic designs.
Simple but stunning.
Gorgeous.
Several kings/queens and noble people were buried in the church. This outlandish tomb belongs to Inês de Castro. The crown price of Portugal at the time, Pedro, feel in love with her. She was assassinated by the order of his father, Alfonso IV, in 1355. After Pedro became king, he had this ornate tomb built for her and named her a queen of Portugal.
King Pedro was buried nearby in 1367. His tomb was damaged by Napoleon’s troops in 1810.
Several other tombs are also in the church, just not as fancy.
The Monastery of Alcobaça is a wonderful place to explore. It’s located not that far from Lisbon and many tour companies run tours to the area. I highly recommend this monastery.
Storm Kirsten side note: I visited the day after the storm. I had seen a couple of other places but the weather turned bad again. I went to go check in at the hotel and somehow the monastery museum was open. I didn’t have a ton of time in the monastery but it was worth it. It made the day not feel like a failure.
Tune in for my next update where I explore the adorable town of Obidos!
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