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 Alcobaça Accommodation
Alcobaça Guest & Manor Houses
Alcobaça Holiday Apartments
Alcobaça Holiday Rental Agents
Alcobaça Hotels
Alcobaça Inns
Alcobaça Entertainment
Alcobaça - Restaurants
Alcobaça - What to do
Alcobaça Golf Courses
Campo Real Golf Course
Bom Sucesso Golf Course
Praia Del Rey Golf Course
Royal Obidos Golf Course
West Cliffs Golf Course
Alcobaça Wines
Estremadura
Introduction to Alcobaça
A town that only became notable in the 12th Century when it became the site
for the important construction of Portugal’s largest church. In the month of
March in 1147 the fledgling King, Dom Afonso Henriques, defeated the
Moors by capturing the town of Santarém. As a suitable memory to
this splendid victory he vowed to build a magnificent home for the Order of
Cistercians. It took another 76 years before this task was completed. The
monarchy continued to endow the Monastery with further construction and 60
years later King Dinis built the main cloister but it was only in
1252 that the Monastery was inaugurated within the church.
In the church are the tombs of King Pedro I and his murdered
mistress, Inês de Castro and with this is the tragic story of the
liaison between Pedro and his ever-lasting love for Inês.
Forced at an early age by royal duty he had to marry Constanza, the
Infanta of Castile. She died within a short time of the
marriage ceremony and created the opportunity for Dom Pedro to
escape with his true love and live in the city of Coimbra. King
Afonso IV as his father, believing that the family of Inês to
be a threat to his own kingdom had her murdered. Shortly after the death
of his father Dom Pedro declared that he had married Inês in
a prior secret ceremony in Bragança, promptly taking revenge on the
killers in a very gruesome manner and exhumed Inês body. He presented the
embalmed corpse at court with a crown on her head and demanded that all
his courtiers kneel and individually pay homage to her decomposed hand.
Today, their ornate tombs face each other so that on the Judgment Day his
first sight would be of his beloved Inês.
During the following centuries the monks from this monastery had an
influencing effect on Portuguese culture. Notably, in 1269 they were the
first to give public lessons to their flock, and later they produced the
authoritative history on Portugal in a series of books. In 1810 the
invading French pillaged the Abbey taking with them most of the many
treasures including a noteworthy library. Whatever the items remaining were
then later stolen in 1834 during an anti-clerical riot and the extinction
of religious Orders in Portugal. (Visit - Portugal History)
Alcobaça - Description
The main feature of the town is essentially the Abbey that proudly presents
a long and sombre façade with 18th Century embellishments. This austerity
is further emphasized in the cloisters with its apt name of “Cloister of
Silence”. In contrast within the Abbey is the massive kitchen with a
running stream specially diverted to pass through as a supply of fresh water.
The open area of the kitchen chimney is large enough to take a whole ox for
roasting. The surround to the sacristy doorway is an outstanding example of
Manueline decoration. In 1794, an Englishman named Lord Beckford
visited the Abbey and commented that he found some 300 monks “living in a
very splendid manner”!
Alcobaça - Nearby Locations
A few kilometres to the north of Alcobaça is another wondrous
building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of
Aljubarrota in 1385, when Dom João I defeated the Castilians
and ensuring two hundred years of independence from the Spanish invaders.
The construction of the Abbey at Batalha commenced in 1388 and was
added to by various Portuguese Kings over these next two centuries.
To the east of Batalha is the world famous location of Fátima
and a point of pilgrimage for the Roman Catholic religion due to the vision
of the Virgin Mary in 1917 by three young children whilst tending their
flock.
To the west of Alcobaça is the well-known fishing village of
Nazaré. Today, the village is now a small town and a popular holiday
resort with most of its past and traditions having rapidly evaporated in
the course of time. A very successful Portuguese feature film was made in
the early 20th Century that dramatically captured the primitive and the
dangerous life of these fishermen. Stoutly Catholic, the inhabitants have
retained some of their past as can be still seen in their own particular
style of costume.
To the south is Caldas da Rainha and the quaint medieval town of
Óbidos that is an attraction for any tourists that enjoys a true
glimpse of the medieval past. Also to the south is the town of
Porto de Mós with its fanciful rebuilt castle. This town borders
the Nature Reserve Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros.
These 39.000 hectares of limestone-covered landscape is also known for its
underground caverns. The most well known being the Grutas de Mira de
Aire can be visited and consists of tunnels, caverns with stalactites,
stalagmites, lakes, and a music and light finale.
Alcobaça Photos
Alcobaça Beach in the Area
· Alcobaça Monastery
· Alcobaça Beach in the Area
· Alcobaça Beach in the Area
· Alcobaça Monastery
· Alcobaça Monastery
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Alcobaça Events |
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| Festival de Musica |
May |
| Feira de São Bernardo |
20th August |
| Town Holiday |
20th August |
| Feira de São Simão |
4th week of October |
| Market Day |
Every Monday
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Costa Prata Towns
Aveiro
· Batalha
· Caldas da Rainha
· Coimbra
· Fátima
· Leiria
· Óbidos
· Tomar
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Alcobaça Telephone Numbers
2460