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Batalha
A Gothic Masterpiece
Batalha's abbey is one of Europe's greatest Gothic masterpieces and is
protected as a World Heritage monument.
It was built in 1388 after King João I made a vow to the Virgin that he
would build a magnificent monastery if she granted him a victory over the
Castillians in the Battle of Aljubarrota.
An equestrian statue of Nuno Alvares Pereira, the king's commander at the
battle, stands before the southern façade.
The exterior possesses innumerable pinnacles, buttresses and openwork
balustrades above Gothic and Flamboyant windows, while the front portal is
decorated with statues of the apostles in intricate Gothic style.
In the vast Gothic interior are 16th-century stained-glass windows of
exceptional beauty, and in the Founder's Chapel are the tombs of King
João, his queen Philippa of Lancaster, and of their younger sons, including
Prince Henry the Navigator.
The Royal Cloisters
were first built in Gothic style in the late 1380s, but Manueline
embellishments were added a century later. Typical Manueline symbols such
as plants and flowers of the newly discovered lands and other seafaring
motifs carved in every arch illustrates the variety and excitement of
Portuguese art during the Age of Discovery.
The Chapter House guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, where the
bodies of two casualties of World War I lie. The vaulting is an
outstandingly bold feat (an unparalleled example of the Gothic style),
rising to a height of 20m (60ft) without intermediary supports -- only
condemned criminals were used to build it.
A magnificent Gothic doorway almost 15m (50ft) high with Manueline
decoration gives access to the roofless Unfinished Chapels, perhaps
the most astonishing part of Batalha.
Seven chapels radiate from an
octagonal rotunda, divided from each other by deeply carved incomplete
pillars that create an effect of oriental exuberance. The massive
buttresses were designed to support a dome that was left unfinished.
The abbey is best seen on a daytrip from Leiria (from
where there is bus service to Batalha),
Nazaré, or Fátima,
although there are also express buses from Lisbon.
South of Batalha is PORTO DE MÓS,
a small town with a distinctive 13th-century castle and underground
caves nearby at Mira de Aire.
The castle, which was once used as a fortified palace but was severely
damaged in the 1755 earthquake, has green cone-shaped turrets and an
exquisite loggia.
The well-illuminated caves have bizarre rock formations and curiously shaped
dripstones, and imaginative and descriptive names like "Hell's Door", "Jewel
Room", "Jelly Fish", and "Church Organ". There is an excellent 45-minute
guided tour that culminates in a natural lake 110m underground.
UNESCO says...
Batalha Abbey was declared a World
Heritage Site
because:
"The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate
the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of
Aljubarrota in 1385. It was to be the Portuguese monarchy's main building
project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic
style evolved, profoundly influenced by Manueline art, as demonstrated by
its masterpiece, the Royal Cloister."
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Places Nearby
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Alcobaça
- Europe's greatest Cistercian temple
Fatima
- Famous shrine of the Catholic world
Leiria
- An old castle in a modern city
Nazare
- Colorful, traditional fishing village
Obidos
- The wedding present town; Portugal's prettiest medieval village
Peniche
- A dream-like nature preserve with underwater activities; fine sandy
beaches
Coimbra
- Old university town; a tragic love story
Conimbriga
- Roman village; Iberia's best preserved Roman mosaics
Tomar -
Manueline flourishes in "the home of the knights"; "a haunted castle"
Lisbon - The
Age of Discovery, World Heritage monuments, museum treasures, vibrant
nightlife
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