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The Monastery of Alcobaça, also known as the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça (its official name in the Congregation of Alcobaça which it headed), is a monastery located in the city of Alcobaça, in the district of Leiria in the Centro region, in Portugal.
It is the first fully Gothic work erected on Portuguese soil, construction having begun in 1178 by the monks of the Cistercian Order.
It has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1989 and as a Portuguese National Monument since 1910. On July 7, 2007, it was elected as one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
In 1834 the monks were forced to leave the monastery, following the decree suppressing all religious orders in Portugal, promulgated by Joaquim António de Aguiar, minister of ecclesiastical affairs and justice in the government of the regency of D. Pedro, Duke of Bragança.
History
At the end of the 10th century, a new Benedictine monastery was organized in Cluny, Burgundy, which sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict with fervor. However, over time, this fervor waned, the Rule of Saint Benedict was "lightened" and, in 1098, some monks abandoned their monastery in Molesme, also in Burgundy, to found a new monastery in Cistercians, south of Dijon. The Cistercians sought to follow the Rule of Saint Benedict to the letter, they wanted to live off their work and not accumulate wealth. Bernardo de Clairvaux, who retired to Cistercians in 1112, from which he left in 1115 to found the Abbey of Clairvaux, greatly increased this reform, which restored all its initial rigor to the Rule of Saint Benedict.
While D. Afonso Henriques was engaged in the Reconquest, the Cistercian monks who would found the Monastery of São João de Tarouca around 1142 arrived in Portuguese territory as early as 1138.
D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, donated and granted to S. Bernardo many lands in the region of Alcobaça, in fulfillment of the promise made in 1147, when he conquered Santarém. The temporary construction of the monastery began around 1152, with a reference to its abbot being known in the same year. However, the letter of donation was signed by D. Afonso Henriques the following year, in 1153, for this monastery to promote the settlement and clearing of the lands conquered from the Muslims. If we compare the plan of the church of the Monastery of Alcobaça with that of the second church of Claraval, we see that they have almost the same size and spatial arrangement.
The first monks of Alcobaça, known as white monks, had a notable civilizing action. They also carried out assistance and charitable actions through the botica (the pharmacy), and the distribution of bread and alms at the entrance.
In the time of General Fr. Sebastião de Sottomaior greatly increased the Abbey's imaginary workshops.
Description of facilities
General description
Monastery plan
1- Church; 2- Medieval Sacristy; 3- Chapter Room; 4-Parlatory; 5- Access stairs to the dormitory; 6- Monks Room; 7- Kitchen; 8- Refectory; 9- Toilet; 10- Cloister of D. Dinis; 11- Cloister of the Inn; 12- Room of the Conclusions; 13- Room of the Kings; 14- South Wing; 15- Royal Pantheon; 16- Senhor Passos Chapel; 17- Sacristy; 18- Senhora do Desterro Chapel; 19- Cardeal Cloister; 20- Cloister of the Rachadoiro; 21- Library
The monastery consists of a church next to the sacristy and, to the north, by three cloisters in a row, each one completely surrounded by two floors, as well as a wing to the south. The cloisters, including the oldest, also have two floors. The buildings around the most recent cloisters have three floors. Between 1998 and 2000 a presumed fourth cloister was discovered on the south side of the church. This cloister was probably flattened following the destruction caused by the earthquake of 1755 and the great flood of 1774. It is also possible that the remains of the inhabitants of the south wing were eliminated in 1834. The complete building still has a construction area today. of 27,000 m² and a total floor area of 40,000 m². The built area, together with the south cloister, would have had a dimension of 33,500 m². The main façade of the monastery, the church and the north and south wing is 221 m wide, with the north side ca. from 250 m.
Between 1178 and 1240, the church and the first cloister were built in the pre-Gothic style, from the Romanesque period. The buildings on the south side were probably built in the 14th century. In the last third of the 16th century, construction began on the Cloister of the Levada, which was connected to the northern medieval cloister. Finally, between the 17th century and the mid-18th century, the Cloister of the Library (or Rachadoiro) was built.
Church
The Church consists of a central nave, two side aisles, and a transept, or transept, creating the image of a cross — a Latin cross plan. It is debatable whether the Church was built, in relation to the main altar, the ambulatory and the transept, in the current form or if it deviated in a similar way to that developed in the same period by Claraval, having a shorter transept and no ambulatory. All ships have ca. 20m high. The chancel is limited to the east by an ambulatory, or charola, with nine radial chapels. The other four chapels lead, on both sides, to the transept. The total length is 106 m, the average width is 22 m and the transept width is 52 m. In this way, this Church is one of the largest Cistercian abbeys, having been only the largest (132 m) abbey of Vaucelles today. Although the abbey of Pontigny, which is also located in France, is 108 m two meters taller, it has a narrower transept. The church of Claraval, which no longer exists today and which served as a model for the medieval part of the Monastery, was the same size. The architecture of the church in Alcobaça is a reflection of the Benedictine rule in the search for modesty, humility, isolation from the world and service to God. The Cistercians shared these ideas, decorating and building the structure of their churches in a simple and sparing way. Despite its enormous size, the building only stands out through its necessary structural elements that reach towards the sky. This impression was re-established through the restoration carried out in 1930. In that same year it was decided to reconstruct it along the lines of medieval times, eliminating many constructions that had appeared over the centuries. Unfortunately, an organ was also eliminated. Consequently, the limestone-based stones that make up the wall were visible, many of which contained the carver's symbols. Therefore, it is known that his work was remunerated.
The choir chairs, from the 16th century, burned in 1810, during the third French Invasion. The main facade of the Monastery, to the west, was altered between 1702 and 1725 with elements of the Baroque style. From there, the church façade is flanked, towards the square, by two-storey wings each 100 m long. The church itself acquired two Baroque bell towers and has a 43 m façade, decorated with several statues. The entrance staircase, with its baroque decorations, also dates from this time. Of the old façade, only the Gothic portal and the rose window remain. It is difficult to know the appearance of the original façade, as it was destroyed in 1531. The church probably did not have bell towers, thus corresponding to the Cistercian ideal of simplicity.
Architectural characterization
With a Latin cross plan, the architectural design of this monument, devoid of interior decoration and without images, as ordered by the Cistercian Order, presents an indisputable grandeur and beauty. The central and side naves, entirely vaulted, are practically the same height, giving the feeling of ample space, which the lighting process, still Romanesque, gives little light and makes it bigger. The side aisles extend through the ambulatory, and from the charola radiate nine chapels that accompany the circular apse, illuminated by high crevices, which enhances the high altar. Supporting the upper part of the apse are buttresses, unusual in Cistercian abbeys, perhaps because it is a transitional monument between Romanesque and Gothic. The innovations typical of Gothic art still appear with the appearance of a rehearsal, such as the ascent of the side aisles to the height of the central one. The transept has two naves, but when we look at the plan of the church, we recognize three, in the foundations and in the central body.
The interior of the building demonstrates the existence of an advanced Gothic, but the exterior of the building expresses the Cistercian austerity, in this case oriented towards more pragmatic objectives. In fact, as required by Cistercian laws, there were no towers, and the facades, namely the frontispiece, had only a smooth wall with a triangular gable. The walls are buttressed, except for the transept, where flying buttresses appear for the first time in Portuguese architecture. The coronation of the temple, from the outside, is made up of merlons with beveled tops on both sides, on a parapet resting on a row of cantilevered. This characteristic gives the whole a military solidity, an air of fortress.
These and other aspects may belie the scarce influence of the monastery of Alcobaça in the history of Portuguese architecture. In fact, the monument has always been seen as an exception within the framework of the Gothic mode produced in Portugal, as a unique and experimental piece with no antecedents or descendants.
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is a complex work. Its interior structure — the presbytery itself — articulates with the nave through two opposite walls, straight, marked by two pillars at the ends and on each side; eight columns of large diameter and robustness, with capitals of concave truncated conical basket and very simplified vegetal ornamentation, support very refined broken arches; the vault, ribbed and light, rests on half columns whose root is located above those capitals. The outer part of the Deambulatory is equipped with a heavier vault and in accordance with the simpler systems used in the rest of the building.
Sacristy
The medieval sacristy, from ca. of 100 m², which was at the top of the north side of the transept, was replaced, under King Manuel I (1495-1521), by a new sacristy, with ca. of 250 m², on the southeast side of the charola. On the other side of the entrance hall, the chapel of Senhor dos Passos was later built. Both the sacristy and the chapel were destroyed during the 1755 earthquake. In their reconstruction, the Manueline portals were preserved, which are one of the few construction elements of this style in Alcobaça. At the end of the sacristy is the Chapel of Relics.
Royal pantheon
The first royal tombs
Inside the church are the tombs of kings D. Afonso II (1185-1223; tomb dated 1224) and D. Afonso III (1210-1279). The tombs are located on both sides of the Chapel of São Bernardo (containing the representation of his death), in the south transept. In front of these tombs, in a side room, there are eight other tombs, in which D. Beatriz, wife of D. Afonso III, and three of his children are found. Another sarcophagus belongs to D. Urraca, the first wife of D. Afonso II. The history of the other sarcophagi is not known, and these are now empty, after being sealed again between 1996 and 2000. The side building, in which these sarcophagi are currently located, was built following the damage caused by the great flood from 1774. From the 16th century onwards, the sarcophagi were found in the south transept and, previously, probably in the central nave.
Tombs of D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro
The sarcophagi
The tombs of D. Pedro I (1320-1367), nicknamed The Cruel or also The Just, and that of D. Inês de Castro (1320-1355), which are now on each side of the transept, also confer today, a great meaning and splendor to the church. The tombs belong to one of the greatest tomb sculptures of the Middle Ages. When he ascended to the throne, D. Pedro I had ordered the construction of these tombs so that his great love, D. Inês, could be buried there, who had been cruelly sentenced to death by D. Pedro I's father, D. Afonso IV ( 1291-1357). He also intended to be buried there himself after his death. The scenes, not very clear, represented in the tombs, illustrate scenes from the History of Portugal, are of biblical origin or simply resort to fables. On the one hand, this iconography is quite extensive, and on the other hand, it is very debatable.
The Creation of the Tombs
D. Pedro I married in 1336, in a second marriage, with D. Constança Manuel (1318-1345), a Castilian princess. Due to several wars between Portugal and Castile, D. Constança only arrived in Portugal in 1339. In her entourage, she brought the chambermaid Inês de Castro, who came from an ancient and powerful Galician noble family. D. Pedro I fell in love with her. In 1345, D. Constança died fourteen days after giving birth to her surviving son, D. Fernando I. D. Pedro I began to live publicly with D. Inês, giving birth to three children. D. Pedro I's father, D Afonso IV, did not accept this relationship, fighting it and, in 1355, condemned D. Inês to death for high treason. After ascending the throne, D. Pedro I avenged the death of his beloved (claiming to have secretly married her in 1354) and decreed that D. Inês be honored as queen of Portugal. When in 1361 the sarcophagi were ready, D. Pedro I had them placed in the south part of the transept of the church of Alcobaça and the remains of D. Inês de Coimbra transferred to Alcobaça, under the gaze of most of the nobility and population . In his will, D. Pedro I determined that he be buried in the other sarcophagus so that, when the couple resurrected, on Judgment Day, they would look each other in the eye. (According to the sources, there would only be a request for a daily mass to be read at their tombs.)
The Luck of the Tombs
On the 1st of August 1569, King D. Sebastião I (1554-1578), whose uncle was Cardinal D. Henrique, Abbot of Alcobaça, had the tombs opened. According to the reports of two monks present, while the tombs were opened, the king recited texts alluding to the love of D. Pedro and D. Inês. During the French Invasion of 1810, the two tombs were not only irreparably damaged, but were also desecrated by soldiers. D. Pedro's embalmed body was removed from the coffin and wrapped in a purple cloth, while D. Inês's head, which still had blonde hair, was thrown into the next room, next to the other sarcophagi. The monks later gathered the elements of the tombs and resealed them. After the year 1810, the tombs were placed in various places in the church, to return to their initial position in the transept, facing each other, in 1956. Now, the tombs are the destination of many lovers, who often visit them in the their wedding day, to swear an oath of eternal love and fidelity in front of the two tombs.
Current Religious Functions
The temple is permanently assigned to the religious service of the parish of Alcobaça. The State is responsible for its conservation, repair and restoration in accordance with a plan established in agreement with the ecclesiastical authority, to avoid disturbances in the religious service, and the Church is responsible for its custody and internal regime, namely with regard to visiting hours, in which an official appointed by the State may intervene, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal of 1940, and Article 22 of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal of 2004, signed in 18 May 2004, which superseded the 1940 Concordat.
Medieval cloister
The first cloister and church were possibly completed in 1240. However, it is likely that the cloister collapsed. Between 1308 and 1311 it was replaced by the still existing Cloister of Dom Dinis or Cloister of Silence, a name due to the ban on conversation at that time in that location. Its length around it is 203 m and its ceiling height has an average height of 5 m. By order of King D. Manuel I (1469-1521), at the beginning of the 16th century, a second floor was added, the supercloister. Access to the upper floor of the cloister is via a spiral staircase in the wall, also connecting the kitchen to the bedroom.
Cloister of Reading
The cloister to the south, Cloister of Reading, runs parallel to the church without encompassing other parts of the building. In the middle of the 15th century, stone benches were placed there, on which the monks could sit while listening to the readings. In the middle of the cloister there is a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary, thus corresponding to a long tradition in Cistercian monasteries.
Chapter Cloister
The cloister on the eastern side, the Cloister of the Chapter, begins on its south side with a connecting door to the church, through which the monks passed to enter the church, and includes the medieval sacristy, the Chapter Room, the Parlatory , the access stairs to the dormitory and access to the Sala dos Monges.
Chapter Room
Access to the Chapter Room reveals a particularly attractive facade due to its pillars staggered one after the other. The Chapter Room served the monks' assemblies and was, after the church, the most important room in the Monastery. Its name is due to the readings that were made from the chapters of the Benedictine Rule. On the other hand, this room was the place for polls and other similar acts performed by the monks. It has a square shape measuring 17.5 m x 17.5 m, with space for 200 monks. In the entrance area to the Chapter Room there is a tombstone of an unidentified abbot. In the old days, the floor of this room was completely covered with these funerary plaques, because according to a Cistercian law of the year 1180, the abbots had to be buried in the Chapter Room. In the church, in the south transept, there is a door, with access to the outside, called the Door of the Dead, because the deceased monks were transported through it to be buried. Despite this fact, during the renovation work on the Abbey of Alcobaça, bones of people buried there were found under the floor.
Parlor
The Parlatory, from ca. 5 m wide, is located next to the Chapter Room. It was only in the Parlatory that monks were allowed to speak with their superiors. As a matter of principle, monks were obliged to remain silent, with the exception of prayer, and only very necessary information could be transmitted. For this reason, many used a sign language.
Dorm
Then a door to the Dormitory opens. This staircase was only discovered in 1930, when renovation works were carried out. The Dormitory, which is located on the first floor, has a length of 66.5 m and a width of 21.5 m to 17.5 m on the total eastern side of the medieval part of the abbey, thus having an area of close to 1300 m² . In its current, restored form, the Dormitory is presented in its original medieval form. In the upper part of the south side, the Dormitory is opened by a large ogival door that gives access to the north transept of the church. In the past, and in this place, there was a staircase allowing access to the church, thus fulfilling a Cistercian law that required the dormitory to have two access entrances. In the upper part of the north side of the Dormitory were the latrines, which were obligatorily separated by a separate room – a law similarly stipulated by Cistercian usage. The water drained into the garden on the north side of the abbey. The monks slept in the Dormitory all together and fully clothed, separated only by a movable partition. The abbot had his own cell. At that time, this was the arrangement existing in most monasteries. In the middle of the western side, there is a narrow door that gave access to a spiral staircase, which today gives access to the kitchen and, in the Middle Ages, allowed the entrance to the Calefactory (see below). From this side, there was also access to the upper cloister. The Dormitory has been altered over the centuries. At the beginning of the 16th century, it acquired a second floor, inserted more or less at the level of the capital of the pillars, continuing to have a sufficient height. Supposedly, this was where the novices slept. Below, in the northern half, rooms were built, which were used as a library (until the construction of the new Library in 1755), and as an archive. Cells were built on the south side, since, with the enlargement of the new Monastery around the cloisters, which were to the east, this type of accommodation replaced the old sleeping rooms. On the eastern side, through the extensions, the bedroom acquired a terrace with direct access. In 1632, the North facade of the Dormitory was finished. This facade was crowned with a statue of the founder of the abbey, D. Afonso Henriques. In 1940, and as part of the restoration, the previously inserted second floor was eliminated. The Dormitory, as it is visible today, is today a room with three naves of enormous dimensions, used fundamentally for cultural events such as, for example, exhibitions.
Monks Room
Underneath the northern part of the Dormitory, accessible through a door next to the stairs, is the Sala dos Monges. This room has ca. of 560 m², sloping towards the north side via four steps. In the first centuries, this room served as accommodation for novices, who did not participate in the normal life of professed monks. When, at the beginning of the 16th century, the novices' dormitory was transferred to the second floor of the monks' dormitory, the Monks' Room became a workroom and a living room for the monks. After the construction of the new kitchen, in the 17th century, it was also in this room that the goods were delivered and stored. At the south end of the Sala dos Monges there is a massive mural partition, open towards the ceiling, forming a narrow room towards the north wall of the Palratório. The function of this compartment is unknown. Some have imagined that it could have served as a prison, since, in 1229, the general chapter of the Cistercians decided that all monasteries should have a prison inside. But there is no reliable information about this in the monastery documentation.
Refectory Cloister
In medieval times, the cloister to the north, the Cloister of the Refectory, included, seen from east to west, the room next to the Sala dos Monges, i. and, the boiler room, the refectory with a toilet at the entrance, and the old kitchen. Both to the north of the old kitchen, and also to the north of the boiler, there were patios that were within the line of the building.
Old and new kitchen
During his reign (1656-1667), King D. Afonso VI (1643-1683) gave the order for the construction of a new cloister in the northwest area of the Monastery, through which it was necessary to abdicate the medieval kitchen to the west of the refectory. At the same time, the eating habits of the monks had changed. According to ancient Cistercian usages, meat and fats were forbidden to monks. An exception was made in the case of illness, the monks being able to eat meat in the infirmary. In the year 1666, Pope Alexander VII authorized the consumption of meat three times a week. This authorization triggered a radical change in the monks' customs, with their small kitchen technically ill-prepared. Thus, it was necessary to divert the boiler to the east of the refectory to create a new kitchen. Apart from the kitchen, the Calefactorio was the only room where you could heat up, so in medieval times, this was where copyists copied their books. However, with the enlargement of more cloisters of the Monastery, this room became unnecessary because, in the meantime, printing had replaced manual copying. In this way, a new kitchen was built in the area of the Calefactory and the patio, 29 m deep and 6.50 m wide, which surpassed the two floors, reaching a height of 18 m. The exact date of the new construction is not known, although there is an inscription on the kitchen wall with the date of 1712. However, it is presumed that the new kitchen was built before the cloister of King D. Afonso VI, by around the 17th century. In the middle of the kitchen, a fireplace was built over an area of ca. 3 x 8 m, with a height of 25 m, with two side fireplaces measuring 2.5 m x 1.5 m and 4 m x 1.5 m of equal height, these measures being the highest in the Monastery, after the church with its nave. These provisions only existed in Portugal in the Convent of the Order of Christ, in Tomar, and in the National Palace of Sintra. The floor of the main hearth was lowered in relation to ground level so that it could capture the embers, so these provisions – after abstaining from meat for centuries – were suitable for grilling and cooking cattle. Some calculations concluded that the kitchen was enough to feed more than 500 people. In 1762, there were 139 white monks in Alcobaça, together with lay brothers. Underneath the kitchen floor runs a Levada conduit, an artificial branch of the Alcoa River. The water exits from the north side of the kitchen through an open slit to flow into a basin inserted in the floor, from which the water was withdrawn. On the west side of the kitchen, seven large stone basins were placed with exits through imaginary figures or faces, from which water flowed into two basins the size of a bathtub, fed by a crack in the wall. This crevice was fed by another inflow of water, which in turn was fed by a spring through a 3.2 km conduit with potable water (see below). In 1762, the kitchen received the tiles on the walls and ceilings that still exist today.
Refectory
To the west and next to the new kitchen is the Refectory, consisting of a room with three naves, measuring ca. of 620 m² (29 x 21.5 m). Above the entrance is an inscription in Latin that is difficult to interpret: respicite quia peccata populi comeditis (remember that you are eating the sins of the people). The room impresses with its harmonious proportions, with windows on both the north and east sides. On the west side, a stone staircase leads to the pulpit of the reader, who read spiritual texts during meals. The monks sat with their faces turned towards each other and ate their meal in silence. The abbot sat with his back to the north wall. On the west side of the south end, the Refectory opened onto the old medieval kitchen, today a side room, which leads to the cloister of D. Afonso VI. A few meters ahead, there is an opening in the same wall, two meters high and 32 cm wide, which leads to the room, with no explanation for it. The narrow door, contrary to what is thought, served as a means of connection to the outside of the monastery, to pass meals to the poor. The damage caused by the transformation of the Refectory into a theater in 1840 was remedied during its restoration.
Toilet
Opposite the entrance to the refectory is the toilet. In the middle of a pavilion with five corners there is a tank with running water, in which the monks washed their hands before meals. This arrangement is typical of Cistercian monasteries. The toilet is also supplied with water from the drinking water pipe itself. The roof of the pavilion has a terrace, which is accessed via a staircase from the upper cloister. On this terrace is an old sundial.
Sunset Cloister
This cloister included, during medieval times, the rooms of the lay brothers who had their refectory there. In addition, there were the Monastery's pantries. The lay brothers had access to the church through their own path, which is found today at the entrance door of the Sala dos Reis. During masses, the back part of the church was assigned to them. From the 16th century onwards, the lay brothers' area was completely transformed. Cardinal D. Henrique (abbot of Alcobaça from 1542 to 1580) ordered the construction of the abbey palace in this location, with the order that, after his death, these rooms would be used to accommodate guests. After his death, there is evidence of the existence of the hostel (also on the top floor), the Sala das Conclusions and the Sala dos Reis. In the Sala das Conclusões were the statues of the Portuguese kings that, between 1765 and 1769, were moved to the current Sala dos Reis, which had previously served as a chapel. Later, the Sala das Conclusions was used as a finance office. The 19 statues of the kings, which are still preserved, can be found in the Sala dos Reis on top of pedestals. The blue tiles, dating from the last third of the 18th century, which cover the walls of the Sala dos Reis, represent the history of the foundation of the Monastery of Alcobaça. There is a group of statues of D. Afonso Henriques, São Bernardo de Clairvaux and Pope Alexander III, symbolizing the coronation of the Portuguese king.
Other cloisters
Levada Cloister
From the 16th century onwards, a great deal of construction activity emerged as a result of the new functions of the Cistercian Congregation of Portugal. These constructions involved both the renovation and remodeling of the remaining parts of the Monastery, as well as the remodeling of the Monastery's west façade. On the east side of the building to the north of the church, the Levada Cloister was built, also known as Cloister of Novices or Cloister of Cardeal – the latter name probably goes back to its initiator, Cardinal D. Henrique. The Levada passes through the courtyard of the Cloister. The Levada is an artificial branch of the river Alcoa that was diverted and that passed through the south side of the sacristy, entering the Monastery, serving for the operation of the wheels of the mills and similar equipment. Both the Cloister and the buildings that connected it to the north, south and east (to the west the Cloister borders the medieval buildings) were completed in 1636. These buildings housed the rooms of the major abbot and those of the novices, On the ground floor are the workshops and kilns for clay sculptures. Unlike what happened in medieval buildings, cells were provided for the accommodation of monks.
Cloister of Rachadoiro
In the 17th century, there was a great need to build the Cloister of the Rachadoiro, or Library Cloister, due to lack of space in the Monastery. Its construction lasted until the 18th century, ending with the construction of the Library on the south side of the Cloister. In its buildings there were cells and on the ground floor were workshops and similar facilities. In general, the Library consists of a room measuring 47.7 m x 12.7 m. The ceiling was decorated with an image of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, decorated with flowers that, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was destroyed by damage to the roof. The Library contained one of the largest collections in Portugal until the year of its sacking in 1833 and the subsequent transfer of the remainder to the National Library.
In 2022, it opened transformed into a charming hotel with 91 rooms.
Surroundings
Monastery Wall
According to monastic usages, a monastery should house water, a mill and a garden inside. In this way, the Monastery of Alcobaça, like the mother monastery of Claraval, had a high wall around it. However, the western façade of the Monastery bordered its square. It is likely that during medieval times there was a moat protecting the Monastery in that location. The wall ran from the west facade to the north to the river Baça that came from the west, so both the confluence of the rivers Baça and Alcoa, as well as the old abbey, were located within the walls of the Monastery. According to another opinion, they would be found outside the walls of the Monastery. Part of that wall was only demolished in 1839. There are still some parts of the Monastery's wall to the south, which started from the south wing of the Monastery square. However, most of the wall disappeared in the sludge from the flood of 1774, which also covered the Monastery's buildings, piling up along with the earth. This wall is several meters away from the south facade of the Monastery, meeting the artificial arm of Alcoa, the Levada that originally supplied the Monastery with water and energy. Also in this place are still recognizable traces of the old wall and the constructions of the Levada. There is no certainty about the course of the Monastery's boundaries on the east side, where the Alcoa River also flows. In the illustrative representation of an 18th-century artist, the buildings surrounding the Monastery, which existed at that time, were not included.
The Monastery gardens to the south
In the 18th century, between the Monastery wall facing south and the Monastery itself, there were imposing French-style gardens. In these gardens there is still an ellipse-shaped lake and an obelisk, which probably date from the modernizations begun in the 16th century, under the influence of the Baroque, in the western part. Visitors in the 18th century praised these gardens. The Levada flowed through these gardens. On the banks of the Levada there were four fountains.
Cemeteries
The monks' cemetery was located on the south side of the church's transept, which is why the door leading to the outside is nicknamed the Door of the Dead. There is also the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, dating from 1716. After the closure of the Monastery, the inhabitants of Alcobaça were buried here for a few decades.
Agriculture
Located to the north of the Monastery and the Alcoa and Baça rivers were the Monastery's agricultural devices, of which the remains of the building still exist in Praça de D. Afonso Henriques. An example of this are the two passageways in the form of a tunnel (dubbed the Cistercian Gate and the Claraval Gate). It was in this building that the horses and carriages of the Monastery were located.
The Hydraulic System of the Monastery
The Old Abbey, the first provisional Monastery, was built on the bank of the Alcoa River. Later, the Monastery began to be supplied by water that came from an artificial lateral arm of Alcoa, the Levada. Based on the results of various investigations, it is possible that the Alcoa River was diverted or rectified and that some parts of its former bed were used for the construction of the Levada. However, it is surprising that the monks created their own water supply system from a very early age. In this way, in Chiqueda, which is located on the upper course of the Alcoa River, a source was used, whose water was channeled through underground tunnels for more than 3.2 km. Sometimes, it ran towards the Monastery, on a slope of 0.25%, through passable tunnels or channels under open sky. It was in this way that the Lavabo, located at the entrance to the Refectory, in which the monks could wash their hands, and the kitchen were supplied with water. Inside the wall of the Monastery there were also several wells, from which clean water came, as can be seen above, for example, by the gargoyle probably dating from the 16th century. It is assumed that the water supply, through the underground passage, also served a need in times of crisis. Corresponding underground tributaries from more distant sources of channels diverted into passable tunnels also existed on the south side. There are still parts of these tunnels. They were probably intended to supply the Monastery with spring water before the new water pipe at Chiqueda was built. Underground installations like these are also known on the north side of the Monastery leading towards Vestiaria.
Versão portuguesa aqui.
GPS 39.54834049455955, -8.979602067794728
The Monastery of Alcobaça, also known as the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça (its official name in the Congregation of Alcobaça which it headed), is a monastery located in the city of Alcobaça, in the district of Leiria in the Centro region, in Portugal.
It is the first fully Gothic work erected on Portuguese soil, construction having begun in 1178 by the monks of the Cistercian Order.
It has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1989 and as a Portuguese National Monument since 1910. On July 7, 2007, it was elected as one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
In 1834 the monks were forced to leave the monastery, following the decree suppressing all religious orders in Portugal, promulgated by Joaquim António de Aguiar, minister of ecclesiastical affairs and justice in the government of the regency of D. Pedro, Duke of Bragança.
History
At the end of the 10th century, a new Benedictine monastery was organized in Cluny, Burgundy, which sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict with fervor. However, over time, this fervor waned, the Rule of Saint Benedict was "lightened" and, in 1098, some monks abandoned their monastery in Molesme, also in Burgundy, to found a new monastery in Cistercians, south of Dijon. The Cistercians sought to follow the Rule of Saint Benedict to the letter, they wanted to live off their work and not accumulate wealth. Bernardo de Clairvaux, who retired to Cistercians in 1112, from which he left in 1115 to found the Abbey of Clairvaux, greatly increased this reform, which restored all its initial rigor to the Rule of Saint Benedict.
While D. Afonso Henriques was engaged in the Reconquest, the Cistercian monks who would found the Monastery of São João de Tarouca around 1142 arrived in Portuguese territory as early as 1138.
D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, donated and granted to S. Bernardo many lands in the region of Alcobaça, in fulfillment of the promise made in 1147, when he conquered Santarém. The temporary construction of the monastery began around 1152, with a reference to its abbot being known in the same year. However, the letter of donation was signed by D. Afonso Henriques the following year, in 1153, for this monastery to promote the settlement and clearing of the lands conquered from the Muslims. If we compare the plan of the church of the Monastery of Alcobaça with that of the second church of Claraval, we see that they have almost the same size and spatial arrangement.
The first monks of Alcobaça, known as white monks, had a notable civilizing action. They also carried out assistance and charitable actions through the botica (the pharmacy), and the distribution of bread and alms at the entrance.
In the time of General Fr. Sebastião de Sottomaior greatly increased the Abbey's imaginary workshops.
Description of facilities
General description
Monastery plan
1- Church; 2- Medieval Sacristy; 3- Chapter Room; 4-Parlatory; 5- Access stairs to the dormitory; 6- Monks Room; 7- Kitchen; 8- Refectory; 9- Toilet; 10- Cloister of D. Dinis; 11- Cloister of the Inn; 12- Room of the Conclusions; 13- Room of the Kings; 14- South Wing; 15- Royal Pantheon; 16- Senhor Passos Chapel; 17- Sacristy; 18- Senhora do Desterro Chapel; 19- Cardeal Cloister; 20- Cloister of the Rachadoiro; 21- Library
The monastery consists of a church next to the sacristy and, to the north, by three cloisters in a row, each one completely surrounded by two floors, as well as a wing to the south. The cloisters, including the oldest, also have two floors. The buildings around the most recent cloisters have three floors. Between 1998 and 2000 a presumed fourth cloister was discovered on the south side of the church. This cloister was probably flattened following the destruction caused by the earthquake of 1755 and the great flood of 1774. It is also possible that the remains of the inhabitants of the south wing were eliminated in 1834. The complete building still has a construction area today. of 27,000 m² and a total floor area of 40,000 m². The built area, together with the south cloister, would have had a dimension of 33,500 m². The main façade of the monastery, the church and the north and south wing is 221 m wide, with the north side ca. from 250 m.
Between 1178 and 1240, the church and the first cloister were built in the pre-Gothic style, from the Romanesque period. The buildings on the south side were probably built in the 14th century. In the last third of the 16th century, construction began on the Cloister of the Levada, which was connected to the northern medieval cloister. Finally, between the 17th century and the mid-18th century, the Cloister of the Library (or Rachadoiro) was built.
Church
The Church consists of a central nave, two side aisles, and a transept, or transept, creating the image of a cross — a Latin cross plan. It is debatable whether the Church was built, in relation to the main altar, the ambulatory and the transept, in the current form or if it deviated in a similar way to that developed in the same period by Claraval, having a shorter transept and no ambulatory. All ships have ca. 20m high. The chancel is limited to the east by an ambulatory, or charola, with nine radial chapels. The other four chapels lead, on both sides, to the transept. The total length is 106 m, the average width is 22 m and the transept width is 52 m. In this way, this Church is one of the largest Cistercian abbeys, having been only the largest (132 m) abbey of Vaucelles today. Although the abbey of Pontigny, which is also located in France, is 108 m two meters taller, it has a narrower transept. The church of Claraval, which no longer exists today and which served as a model for the medieval part of the Monastery, was the same size. The architecture of the church in Alcobaça is a reflection of the Benedictine rule in the search for modesty, humility, isolation from the world and service to God. The Cistercians shared these ideas, decorating and building the structure of their churches in a simple and sparing way. Despite its enormous size, the building only stands out through its necessary structural elements that reach towards the sky. This impression was re-established through the restoration carried out in 1930. In that same year it was decided to reconstruct it along the lines of medieval times, eliminating many constructions that had appeared over the centuries. Unfortunately, an organ was also eliminated. Consequently, the limestone-based stones that make up the wall were visible, many of which contained the carver's symbols. Therefore, it is known that his work was remunerated.
The choir chairs, from the 16th century, burned in 1810, during the third French Invasion. The main facade of the Monastery, to the west, was altered between 1702 and 1725 with elements of the Baroque style. From there, the church façade is flanked, towards the square, by two-storey wings each 100 m long. The church itself acquired two Baroque bell towers and has a 43 m façade, decorated with several statues. The entrance staircase, with its baroque decorations, also dates from this time. Of the old façade, only the Gothic portal and the rose window remain. It is difficult to know the appearance of the original façade, as it was destroyed in 1531. The church probably did not have bell towers, thus corresponding to the Cistercian ideal of simplicity.
Architectural characterization
With a Latin cross plan, the architectural design of this monument, devoid of interior decoration and without images, as ordered by the Cistercian Order, presents an indisputable grandeur and beauty. The central and side naves, entirely vaulted, are practically the same height, giving the feeling of ample space, which the lighting process, still Romanesque, gives little light and makes it bigger. The side aisles extend through the ambulatory, and from the charola radiate nine chapels that accompany the circular apse, illuminated by high crevices, which enhances the high altar. Supporting the upper part of the apse are buttresses, unusual in Cistercian abbeys, perhaps because it is a transitional monument between Romanesque and Gothic. The innovations typical of Gothic art still appear with the appearance of a rehearsal, such as the ascent of the side aisles to the height of the central one. The transept has two naves, but when we look at the plan of the church, we recognize three, in the foundations and in the central body.
The interior of the building demonstrates the existence of an advanced Gothic, but the exterior of the building expresses the Cistercian austerity, in this case oriented towards more pragmatic objectives. In fact, as required by Cistercian laws, there were no towers, and the facades, namely the frontispiece, had only a smooth wall with a triangular gable. The walls are buttressed, except for the transept, where flying buttresses appear for the first time in Portuguese architecture. The coronation of the temple, from the outside, is made up of merlons with beveled tops on both sides, on a parapet resting on a row of cantilevered. This characteristic gives the whole a military solidity, an air of fortress.
These and other aspects may belie the scarce influence of the monastery of Alcobaça in the history of Portuguese architecture. In fact, the monument has always been seen as an exception within the framework of the Gothic mode produced in Portugal, as a unique and experimental piece with no antecedents or descendants.
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is a complex work. Its interior structure — the presbytery itself — articulates with the nave through two opposite walls, straight, marked by two pillars at the ends and on each side; eight columns of large diameter and robustness, with capitals of concave truncated conical basket and very simplified vegetal ornamentation, support very refined broken arches; the vault, ribbed and light, rests on half columns whose root is located above those capitals. The outer part of the Deambulatory is equipped with a heavier vault and in accordance with the simpler systems used in the rest of the building.
Sacristy
The medieval sacristy, from ca. of 100 m², which was at the top of the north side of the transept, was replaced, under King Manuel I (1495-1521), by a new sacristy, with ca. of 250 m², on the southeast side of the charola. On the other side of the entrance hall, the chapel of Senhor dos Passos was later built. Both the sacristy and the chapel were destroyed during the 1755 earthquake. In their reconstruction, the Manueline portals were preserved, which are one of the few construction elements of this style in Alcobaça. At the end of the sacristy is the Chapel of Relics.
Royal pantheon
The first royal tombs
Inside the church are the tombs of kings D. Afonso II (1185-1223; tomb dated 1224) and D. Afonso III (1210-1279). The tombs are located on both sides of the Chapel of São Bernardo (containing the representation of his death), in the south transept. In front of these tombs, in a side room, there are eight other tombs, in which D. Beatriz, wife of D. Afonso III, and three of his children are found. Another sarcophagus belongs to D. Urraca, the first wife of D. Afonso II. The history of the other sarcophagi is not known, and these are now empty, after being sealed again between 1996 and 2000. The side building, in which these sarcophagi are currently located, was built following the damage caused by the great flood from 1774. From the 16th century onwards, the sarcophagi were found in the south transept and, previously, probably in the central nave.
Tombs of D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro
The sarcophagi
The tombs of D. Pedro I (1320-1367), nicknamed The Cruel or also The Just, and that of D. Inês de Castro (1320-1355), which are now on each side of the transept, also confer today, a great meaning and splendor to the church. The tombs belong to one of the greatest tomb sculptures of the Middle Ages. When he ascended to the throne, D. Pedro I had ordered the construction of these tombs so that his great love, D. Inês, could be buried there, who had been cruelly sentenced to death by D. Pedro I's father, D. Afonso IV ( 1291-1357). He also intended to be buried there himself after his death. The scenes, not very clear, represented in the tombs, illustrate scenes from the History of Portugal, are of biblical origin or simply resort to fables. On the one hand, this iconography is quite extensive, and on the other hand, it is very debatable.
The Creation of the Tombs
D. Pedro I married in 1336, in a second marriage, with D. Constança Manuel (1318-1345), a Castilian princess. Due to several wars between Portugal and Castile, D. Constança only arrived in Portugal in 1339. In her entourage, she brought the chambermaid Inês de Castro, who came from an ancient and powerful Galician noble family. D. Pedro I fell in love with her. In 1345, D. Constança died fourteen days after giving birth to her surviving son, D. Fernando I. D. Pedro I began to live publicly with D. Inês, giving birth to three children. D. Pedro I's father, D Afonso IV, did not accept this relationship, fighting it and, in 1355, condemned D. Inês to death for high treason. After ascending the throne, D. Pedro I avenged the death of his beloved (claiming to have secretly married her in 1354) and decreed that D. Inês be honored as queen of Portugal. When in 1361 the sarcophagi were ready, D. Pedro I had them placed in the south part of the transept of the church of Alcobaça and the remains of D. Inês de Coimbra transferred to Alcobaça, under the gaze of most of the nobility and population . In his will, D. Pedro I determined that he be buried in the other sarcophagus so that, when the couple resurrected, on Judgment Day, they would look each other in the eye. (According to the sources, there would only be a request for a daily mass to be read at their tombs.)
The Luck of the Tombs
On the 1st of August 1569, King D. Sebastião I (1554-1578), whose uncle was Cardinal D. Henrique, Abbot of Alcobaça, had the tombs opened. According to the reports of two monks present, while the tombs were opened, the king recited texts alluding to the love of D. Pedro and D. Inês. During the French Invasion of 1810, the two tombs were not only irreparably damaged, but were also desecrated by soldiers. D. Pedro's embalmed body was removed from the coffin and wrapped in a purple cloth, while D. Inês's head, which still had blonde hair, was thrown into the next room, next to the other sarcophagi. The monks later gathered the elements of the tombs and resealed them. After the year 1810, the tombs were placed in various places in the church, to return to their initial position in the transept, facing each other, in 1956. Now, the tombs are the destination of many lovers, who often visit them in the their wedding day, to swear an oath of eternal love and fidelity in front of the two tombs.
Current Religious Functions
The temple is permanently assigned to the religious service of the parish of Alcobaça. The State is responsible for its conservation, repair and restoration in accordance with a plan established in agreement with the ecclesiastical authority, to avoid disturbances in the religious service, and the Church is responsible for its custody and internal regime, namely with regard to visiting hours, in which an official appointed by the State may intervene, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal of 1940, and Article 22 of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal of 2004, signed in 18 May 2004, which superseded the 1940 Concordat.
Medieval cloister
The first cloister and church were possibly completed in 1240. However, it is likely that the cloister collapsed. Between 1308 and 1311 it was replaced by the still existing Cloister of Dom Dinis or Cloister of Silence, a name due to the ban on conversation at that time in that location. Its length around it is 203 m and its ceiling height has an average height of 5 m. By order of King D. Manuel I (1469-1521), at the beginning of the 16th century, a second floor was added, the supercloister. Access to the upper floor of the cloister is via a spiral staircase in the wall, also connecting the kitchen to the bedroom.
Cloister of Reading
The cloister to the south, Cloister of Reading, runs parallel to the church without encompassing other parts of the building. In the middle of the 15th century, stone benches were placed there, on which the monks could sit while listening to the readings. In the middle of the cloister there is a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary, thus corresponding to a long tradition in Cistercian monasteries.
Chapter Cloister
The cloister on the eastern side, the Cloister of the Chapter, begins on its south side with a connecting door to the church, through which the monks passed to enter the church, and includes the medieval sacristy, the Chapter Room, the Parlatory , the access stairs to the dormitory and access to the Sala dos Monges.
Chapter Room
Access to the Chapter Room reveals a particularly attractive facade due to its pillars staggered one after the other. The Chapter Room served the monks' assemblies and was, after the church, the most important room in the Monastery. Its name is due to the readings that were made from the chapters of the Benedictine Rule. On the other hand, this room was the place for polls and other similar acts performed by the monks. It has a square shape measuring 17.5 m x 17.5 m, with space for 200 monks. In the entrance area to the Chapter Room there is a tombstone of an unidentified abbot. In the old days, the floor of this room was completely covered with these funerary plaques, because according to a Cistercian law of the year 1180, the abbots had to be buried in the Chapter Room. In the church, in the south transept, there is a door, with access to the outside, called the Door of the Dead, because the deceased monks were transported through it to be buried. Despite this fact, during the renovation work on the Abbey of Alcobaça, bones of people buried there were found under the floor.
Parlor
The Parlatory, from ca. 5 m wide, is located next to the Chapter Room. It was only in the Parlatory that monks were allowed to speak with their superiors. As a matter of principle, monks were obliged to remain silent, with the exception of prayer, and only very necessary information could be transmitted. For this reason, many used a sign language.
Dorm
Then a door to the Dormitory opens. This staircase was only discovered in 1930, when renovation works were carried out. The Dormitory, which is located on the first floor, has a length of 66.5 m and a width of 21.5 m to 17.5 m on the total eastern side of the medieval part of the abbey, thus having an area of close to 1300 m² . In its current, restored form, the Dormitory is presented in its original medieval form. In the upper part of the south side, the Dormitory is opened by a large ogival door that gives access to the north transept of the church. In the past, and in this place, there was a staircase allowing access to the church, thus fulfilling a Cistercian law that required the dormitory to have two access entrances. In the upper part of the north side of the Dormitory were the latrines, which were obligatorily separated by a separate room – a law similarly stipulated by Cistercian usage. The water drained into the garden on the north side of the abbey. The monks slept in the Dormitory all together and fully clothed, separated only by a movable partition. The abbot had his own cell. At that time, this was the arrangement existing in most monasteries. In the middle of the western side, there is a narrow door that gave access to a spiral staircase, which today gives access to the kitchen and, in the Middle Ages, allowed the entrance to the Calefactory (see below). From this side, there was also access to the upper cloister. The Dormitory has been altered over the centuries. At the beginning of the 16th century, it acquired a second floor, inserted more or less at the level of the capital of the pillars, continuing to have a sufficient height. Supposedly, this was where the novices slept. Below, in the northern half, rooms were built, which were used as a library (until the construction of the new Library in 1755), and as an archive. Cells were built on the south side, since, with the enlargement of the new Monastery around the cloisters, which were to the east, this type of accommodation replaced the old sleeping rooms. On the eastern side, through the extensions, the bedroom acquired a terrace with direct access. In 1632, the North facade of the Dormitory was finished. This facade was crowned with a statue of the founder of the abbey, D. Afonso Henriques. In 1940, and as part of the restoration, the previously inserted second floor was eliminated. The Dormitory, as it is visible today, is today a room with three naves of enormous dimensions, used fundamentally for cultural events such as, for example, exhibitions.
Monks Room
Underneath the northern part of the Dormitory, accessible through a door next to the stairs, is the Sala dos Monges. This room has ca. of 560 m², sloping towards the north side via four steps. In the first centuries, this room served as accommodation for novices, who did not participate in the normal life of professed monks. When, at the beginning of the 16th century, the novices' dormitory was transferred to the second floor of the monks' dormitory, the Monks' Room became a workroom and a living room for the monks. After the construction of the new kitchen, in the 17th century, it was also in this room that the goods were delivered and stored. At the south end of the Sala dos Monges there is a massive mural partition, open towards the ceiling, forming a narrow room towards the north wall of the Palratório. The function of this compartment is unknown. Some have imagined that it could have served as a prison, since, in 1229, the general chapter of the Cistercians decided that all monasteries should have a prison inside. But there is no reliable information about this in the monastery documentation.
Refectory Cloister
In medieval times, the cloister to the north, the Cloister of the Refectory, included, seen from east to west, the room next to the Sala dos Monges, i. and, the boiler room, the refectory with a toilet at the entrance, and the old kitchen. Both to the north of the old kitchen, and also to the north of the boiler, there were patios that were within the line of the building.
Old and new kitchen
During his reign (1656-1667), King D. Afonso VI (1643-1683) gave the order for the construction of a new cloister in the northwest area of the Monastery, through which it was necessary to abdicate the medieval kitchen to the west of the refectory. At the same time, the eating habits of the monks had changed. According to ancient Cistercian usages, meat and fats were forbidden to monks. An exception was made in the case of illness, the monks being able to eat meat in the infirmary. In the year 1666, Pope Alexander VII authorized the consumption of meat three times a week. This authorization triggered a radical change in the monks' customs, with their small kitchen technically ill-prepared. Thus, it was necessary to divert the boiler to the east of the refectory to create a new kitchen. Apart from the kitchen, the Calefactorio was the only room where you could heat up, so in medieval times, this was where copyists copied their books. However, with the enlargement of more cloisters of the Monastery, this room became unnecessary because, in the meantime, printing had replaced manual copying. In this way, a new kitchen was built in the area of the Calefactory and the patio, 29 m deep and 6.50 m wide, which surpassed the two floors, reaching a height of 18 m. The exact date of the new construction is not known, although there is an inscription on the kitchen wall with the date of 1712. However, it is presumed that the new kitchen was built before the cloister of King D. Afonso VI, by around the 17th century. In the middle of the kitchen, a fireplace was built over an area of ca. 3 x 8 m, with a height of 25 m, with two side fireplaces measuring 2.5 m x 1.5 m and 4 m x 1.5 m of equal height, these measures being the highest in the Monastery, after the church with its nave. These provisions only existed in Portugal in the Convent of the Order of Christ, in Tomar, and in the National Palace of Sintra. The floor of the main hearth was lowered in relation to ground level so that it could capture the embers, so these provisions – after abstaining from meat for centuries – were suitable for grilling and cooking cattle. Some calculations concluded that the kitchen was enough to feed more than 500 people. In 1762, there were 139 white monks in Alcobaça, together with lay brothers. Underneath the kitchen floor runs a Levada conduit, an artificial branch of the Alcoa River. The water exits from the north side of the kitchen through an open slit to flow into a basin inserted in the floor, from which the water was withdrawn. On the west side of the kitchen, seven large stone basins were placed with exits through imaginary figures or faces, from which water flowed into two basins the size of a bathtub, fed by a crack in the wall. This crevice was fed by another inflow of water, which in turn was fed by a spring through a 3.2 km conduit with potable water (see below). In 1762, the kitchen received the tiles on the walls and ceilings that still exist today.
Refectory
To the west and next to the new kitchen is the Refectory, consisting of a room with three naves, measuring ca. of 620 m² (29 x 21.5 m). Above the entrance is an inscription in Latin that is difficult to interpret: respicite quia peccata populi comeditis (remember that you are eating the sins of the people). The room impresses with its harmonious proportions, with windows on both the north and east sides. On the west side, a stone staircase leads to the pulpit of the reader, who read spiritual texts during meals. The monks sat with their faces turned towards each other and ate their meal in silence. The abbot sat with his back to the north wall. On the west side of the south end, the Refectory opened onto the old medieval kitchen, today a side room, which leads to the cloister of D. Afonso VI. A few meters ahead, there is an opening in the same wall, two meters high and 32 cm wide, which leads to the room, with no explanation for it. The narrow door, contrary to what is thought, served as a means of connection to the outside of the monastery, to pass meals to the poor. The damage caused by the transformation of the Refectory into a theater in 1840 was remedied during its restoration.
Toilet
Opposite the entrance to the refectory is the toilet. In the middle of a pavilion with five corners there is a tank with running water, in which the monks washed their hands before meals. This arrangement is typical of Cistercian monasteries. The toilet is also supplied with water from the drinking water pipe itself. The roof of the pavilion has a terrace, which is accessed via a staircase from the upper cloister. On this terrace is an old sundial.
Sunset Cloister
This cloister included, during medieval times, the rooms of the lay brothers who had their refectory there. In addition, there were the Monastery's pantries. The lay brothers had access to the church through their own path, which is found today at the entrance door of the Sala dos Reis. During masses, the back part of the church was assigned to them. From the 16th century onwards, the lay brothers' area was completely transformed. Cardinal D. Henrique (abbot of Alcobaça from 1542 to 1580) ordered the construction of the abbey palace in this location, with the order that, after his death, these rooms would be used to accommodate guests. After his death, there is evidence of the existence of the hostel (also on the top floor), the Sala das Conclusions and the Sala dos Reis. In the Sala das Conclusões were the statues of the Portuguese kings that, between 1765 and 1769, were moved to the current Sala dos Reis, which had previously served as a chapel. Later, the Sala das Conclusions was used as a finance office. The 19 statues of the kings, which are still preserved, can be found in the Sala dos Reis on top of pedestals. The blue tiles, dating from the last third of the 18th century, which cover the walls of the Sala dos Reis, represent the history of the foundation of the Monastery of Alcobaça. There is a group of statues of D. Afonso Henriques, São Bernardo de Clairvaux and Pope Alexander III, symbolizing the coronation of the Portuguese king.
Other cloisters
Levada Cloister
From the 16th century onwards, a great deal of construction activity emerged as a result of the new functions of the Cistercian Congregation of Portugal. These constructions involved both the renovation and remodeling of the remaining parts of the Monastery, as well as the remodeling of the Monastery's west façade. On the east side of the building to the north of the church, the Levada Cloister was built, also known as Cloister of Novices or Cloister of Cardeal – the latter name probably goes back to its initiator, Cardinal D. Henrique. The Levada passes through the courtyard of the Cloister. The Levada is an artificial branch of the river Alcoa that was diverted and that passed through the south side of the sacristy, entering the Monastery, serving for the operation of the wheels of the mills and similar equipment. Both the Cloister and the buildings that connected it to the north, south and east (to the west the Cloister borders the medieval buildings) were completed in 1636. These buildings housed the rooms of the major abbot and those of the novices, On the ground floor are the workshops and kilns for clay sculptures. Unlike what happened in medieval buildings, cells were provided for the accommodation of monks.
Cloister of Rachadoiro
In the 17th century, there was a great need to build the Cloister of the Rachadoiro, or Library Cloister, due to lack of space in the Monastery. Its construction lasted until the 18th century, ending with the construction of the Library on the south side of the Cloister. In its buildings there were cells and on the ground floor were workshops and similar facilities. In general, the Library consists of a room measuring 47.7 m x 12.7 m. The ceiling was decorated with an image of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, decorated with flowers that, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was destroyed by damage to the roof. The Library contained one of the largest collections in Portugal until the year of its sacking in 1833 and the subsequent transfer of the remainder to the National Library.
In 2022, it opened transformed into a charming hotel with 91 rooms.
Surroundings
Monastery Wall
According to monastic usages, a monastery should house water, a mill and a garden inside. In this way, the Monastery of Alcobaça, like the mother monastery of Claraval, had a high wall around it. However, the western façade of the Monastery bordered its square. It is likely that during medieval times there was a moat protecting the Monastery in that location. The wall ran from the west facade to the north to the river Baça that came from the west, so both the confluence of the rivers Baça and Alcoa, as well as the old abbey, were located within the walls of the Monastery. According to another opinion, they would be found outside the walls of the Monastery. Part of that wall was only demolished in 1839. There are still some parts of the Monastery's wall to the south, which started from the south wing of the Monastery square. However, most of the wall disappeared in the sludge from the flood of 1774, which also covered the Monastery's buildings, piling up along with the earth. This wall is several meters away from the south facade of the Monastery, meeting the artificial arm of Alcoa, the Levada that originally supplied the Monastery with water and energy. Also in this place are still recognizable traces of the old wall and the constructions of the Levada. There is no certainty about the course of the Monastery's boundaries on the east side, where the Alcoa River also flows. In the illustrative representation of an 18th-century artist, the buildings surrounding the Monastery, which existed at that time, were not included.
The Monastery gardens to the south
In the 18th century, between the Monastery wall facing south and the Monastery itself, there were imposing French-style gardens. In these gardens there is still an ellipse-shaped lake and an obelisk, which probably date from the modernizations begun in the 16th century, under the influence of the Baroque, in the western part. Visitors in the 18th century praised these gardens. The Levada flowed through these gardens. On the banks of the Levada there were four fountains.
Cemeteries
The monks' cemetery was located on the south side of the church's transept, which is why the door leading to the outside is nicknamed the Door of the Dead. There is also the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, dating from 1716. After the closure of the Monastery, the inhabitants of Alcobaça were buried here for a few decades.
Agriculture
Located to the north of the Monastery and the Alcoa and Baça rivers were the Monastery's agricultural devices, of which the remains of the building still exist in Praça de D. Afonso Henriques. An example of this are the two passageways in the form of a tunnel (dubbed the Cistercian Gate and the Claraval Gate). It was in this building that the horses and carriages of the Monastery were located.
The Hydraulic System of the Monastery
The Old Abbey, the first provisional Monastery, was built on the bank of the Alcoa River. Later, the Monastery began to be supplied by water that came from an artificial lateral arm of Alcoa, the Levada. Based on the results of various investigations, it is possible that the Alcoa River was diverted or rectified and that some parts of its former bed were used for the construction of the Levada. However, it is surprising that the monks created their own water supply system from a very early age. In this way, in Chiqueda, which is located on the upper course of the Alcoa River, a source was used, whose water was channeled through underground tunnels for more than 3.2 km. Sometimes, it ran towards the Monastery, on a slope of 0.25%, through passable tunnels or channels under open sky. It was in this way that the Lavabo, located at the entrance to the Refectory, in which the monks could wash their hands, and the kitchen were supplied with water. Inside the wall of the Monastery there were also several wells, from which clean water came, as can be seen above, for example, by the gargoyle probably dating from the 16th century. It is assumed that the water supply, through the underground passage, also served a need in times of crisis. Corresponding underground tributaries from more distant sources of channels diverted into passable tunnels also existed on the south side. There are still parts of these tunnels. They were probably intended to supply the Monastery with spring water before the new water pipe at Chiqueda was built. Underground installations like these are also known on the north side of the Monastery leading towards Vestiaria.
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