Alcobaça - Mosteiro de Alcobaça

Alcobaça is home to the "Mosteiro de Alcobaça", one of the largest, most famous and oldest monasteries in Portugal. It was the seat of the Real Abadia de Alcobaça (Royal Abbey of Alcobaça), which from 1567 also presided over all Portuguese Cistercian monasteries. The complex dates back to 1153, when Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, gave the Cistercian order the 500 km² area that would later become the monastery, which had been reclaimed from the Moors. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) one of the most influential clerics of his time, had helped him in his disputes with Alfonso VII. of Leao and Castile over Portugal's unilaterally declared independence and the self-coronation of Alfonso Henriques as King of Portugal in 1139, especially as Eugene III was the first Cistercian to sit on the papal throne from 1145 to 1153. However, the papal bull recognizing Portugal, now issued by Alexander III, was delayed until 1179.

Construction of the monastery began in 1178 and was completed in 1240 with the first section (church and first cloister). As a result of the initial large influx of friars, particularly from Burgundy, the complex was constantly expanded, including the addition of three further cloisters and a church.

The economic success caused a considerable influx, which is why the monastery facilities were constantly expanded. By the beginning of the 15th century, the monks developed a great deal of activity, cultivating the land and developing and expanding agriculture, fishing, extracting salt and iron, promoting crafts and educating the settlers. In 1269 they founded one of the first public schools in the West, and its relocation to Coimbra in 1290 gave rise to the University of Coimbra. The communities belonging to the monastery prospered so well that even in the Alcobaça Abbey, some affluent living began to displace the strict Cistercian rules, a development to which many monasteries succumbed. That's why Pope Benedict XII ordered. In 1335 a reform of the Cistercian orders was announced. King Afonso IV (1291–1357) took advantage of this to curtail the abbey's power. and placed a large number of the towns belonging to Alcobaça under his rule on the grounds that the deed of foundation of King Afonso Henriques did not include the towns.

In view of their wealth and power, the monks distanced themselves from the strict teachings of their founders. In 1475, Abbot Nicolau Vieira secretly ceded his rights to the Archbishop of Lisbon in exchange for an annual pension of 150,000 réis. The monks only found out about this when a delegation from the archbishop took possession of his new rights. The monastery, whose general assembly had always elected its own abbots, thus came under the influence of the commandant abbots (appointed by the king).

In 1531, Afonso de Portugal (1509-1540), the fourth son of King Manuel I (1469-1521) and brother of the later King João III (1502-1557), became Abbot of Alcobaça, who was also Bishop of Lisbon and a cardinal. After his death, King João III appointed his other brother Henrique (1512-1580) as Abbot, who was also Archbishop of Lisbon and Inquisitor General of Portugal and was later appointed Cardinal.

As a result of the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the southern part of the monastery in particular was damaged and the sacristy destroyed. The monastery's own college was completely destroyed and relocated to the rebuilt parts of the southern monastery complex. In two large processions to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré, 10 km away, the monks gave thanks for being largely spared despite this damage. In 1774, Alcobaça was hit by a flood when the river Alcoa overflowed its banks. It once again damaged the southern monastery complex and also caused large areas of the monastery to sink into the muddy masses of the receding water. Finally, as part of the Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula in 1810, French troops invaded Alcobaça and pillaged the monastery.

At the end of the 19th century the historian, archaeologist and agronomist Manuel Vieira de Natividade published his work on the monastery of Alcobaça. It was not until 1901 that the president of the district submitted a request to the government to repair and clean the monastery façade. In 1907, parts of the monastery were placed under protection for the first time by government decree. From 1929, the state began to repair the church and the medieval monastery and restore them to their original condition.

The monks' refectory