Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 40.37607788819287, -8.36560643812613

The Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco is located in the National Forest of Buçaco, parish of Luso, municipality of Mealhada, district of Aveiro, in Portugal.

The Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco has been classified as a National Monument since 2018.

History

The convent was built between 1628 and 1630 by the Order of Discalced Carmelites, who occupied it from 1630 to 1834, the date of the extinction of male religious orders.

There is a curious relationship between the convent of Buçaco and the family of the poet and warrior Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas, a nobleman from the village of Avô (at the time, seat of the county). It follows, - as stated by Dr. António Ribeiro Garcia de Vasconcelos -, of the historical hypothesis that one of his brothers, Francisco, was a Carmelite friar from the ascetery of Buçaco. Let us see then some facts that unite Buçaco to the Garcias de Mascarenhas (see in, VASCONCELOS, António de "Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas - study of historical investigation", University of Coimbra Press, Coimbra, 1922):

The relationships between the Garcias Mascarenhas family in Aveiro and this convent were assiduous, friendly, and so intimate that this hypothesis seems to me to be not only credible but quite probable. Some facts, for example:

— When, in 1659, the brothers of Brás Garcia wanted to establish a chapel for a family burial, and to bind their assets, they reached an agreement with the friars of Buçaco, for them to grant them the patronage of one of the chapels of their conventual church; The said assets were linked to this chapel, establishing a double majorat with them.

— In February 1660, in the course of an ecclesiastical process in which Father Matias Garcia was the defendant, and there being a need for him to present an injunction letter at the Metropolitan Relation of Braga, to which an appeal had been lodged, it was through the Discalced Carmelites of Buçaco that the document to the Carmelites in Aveiro, and through them to those in Braga, to present it in the Braga Relation.

— In March 1660, Father Pantaleão chose the church of the convent of Buçaco for his tomb, to which he immediately paid 6o$ooo réis for the purchase of the transseptal chapel on the side of the Gospel, where the said tomb would be located, as well as the chalice of silver and the vestments of the chapel of S. Brás, by Avô, which would be delivered after the death of his brother Dr. Manuel Garcia.

In the context of the Peninsular War, in 1810 its facilities hosted Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who commanded the Anglo-Portuguese forces against those of the French general André Massena in the Battle of Buçaco.

In 1888, the old monastery, partially demolished, gave way to the construction of the Royal Palace, nowadays Palácio Hotel do Buçaco.

Currently, the Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco is open to the public as a tourist attraction.

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 40.37607788819287, -8.36560643812613

The Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco is located in the National Forest of Buçaco, parish of Luso, municipality of Mealhada, district of Aveiro, in Portugal.

The Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco has been classified as a National Monument since 2018.

History

The convent was built between 1628 and 1630 by the Order of Discalced Carmelites, who occupied it from 1630 to 1834, the date of the extinction of male religious orders.

There is a curious relationship between the convent of Buçaco and the family of the poet and warrior Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas, a nobleman from the village of Avô (at the time, seat of the county). It follows, - as stated by Dr. António Ribeiro Garcia de Vasconcelos -, of the historical hypothesis that one of his brothers, Francisco, was a Carmelite friar from the ascetery of Buçaco. Let us see then some facts that unite Buçaco to the Garcias de Mascarenhas (see in, VASCONCELOS, António de "Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas - study of historical investigation", University of Coimbra Press, Coimbra, 1922):

The relationships between the Garcias Mascarenhas family in Aveiro and this convent were assiduous, friendly, and so intimate that this hypothesis seems to me to be not only credible but quite probable. Some facts, for example:

— When, in 1659, the brothers of Brás Garcia wanted to establish a chapel for a family burial, and to bind their assets, they reached an agreement with the friars of Buçaco, for them to grant them the patronage of one of the chapels of their conventual church; The said assets were linked to this chapel, establishing a double majorat with them.

— In February 1660, in the course of an ecclesiastical process in which Father Matias Garcia was the defendant, and there being a need for him to present an injunction letter at the Metropolitan Relation of Braga, to which an appeal had been lodged, it was through the Discalced Carmelites of Buçaco that the document to the Carmelites in Aveiro, and through them to those in Braga, to present it in the Braga Relation.

— In March 1660, Father Pantaleão chose the church of the convent of Buçaco for his tomb, to which he immediately paid 6o$ooo réis for the purchase of the transseptal chapel on the side of the Gospel, where the said tomb would be located, as well as the chalice of silver and the vestments of the chapel of S. Brás, by Avô, which would be delivered after the death of his brother Dr. Manuel Garcia.

In the context of the Peninsular War, in 1810 its facilities hosted Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who commanded the Anglo-Portuguese forces against those of the French general André Massena in the Battle of Buçaco.

In 1888, the old monastery, partially demolished, gave way to the construction of the Royal Palace, nowadays Palácio Hotel do Buçaco.

Currently, the Convent of Santa Cruz do Buçaco is open to the public as a tourist attraction.