Convento De Cristo (Convento Do Cristo)

The Convento de Cristo in Tomar is one of the most remarkable monuments in Portugal, a complex that grew over about five centuries and that reflects the changing role of the order that built it. It was founded in the 12th century by the Knights Templar, whose master in Portugal, Gualdim Pais, began building a fortress on the hill above the Nabão river in 1160. After the Templars were suppressed in the early 14th century, their Portuguese properties passed to a new body, the Order of Christ, which kept its seat at Tomar. Under Prince Henry the Navigator, who governed the order in the 15th century, its revenues helped to pay for the voyages of discovery, and its cross became the emblem on the sails of the caravels.

The oldest part is the Charola, the round Templar church, built in the 12th century on a sixteen-sided plan, with an octagonal central core surrounded by an ambulatory. Its design recalls the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and in the later Middle Ages and the 16th century it was decorated with painted and gilded wooden figures and wall paintings, giving the interior a rich, colourful look. In the early 16th century, King Manuel I extended the church with a new nave, whose west facade carries one of the most extravagant window designs in Europe, the Chapter House Window. Carved by Diogo de Arruda, it is a tangle of ropes, coral, seaweed, shells, and armillary spheres, with the cross of the Order of Christ and the arms of the king, and it is the high point of Manueline style.

The complex has several cloisters. The Cloister of the Washing and others of the 15th and 16th centuries show Gothic and Renaissance styles, while the large Main Cloister, built under King João III by Diogo de Torralva and completed by Filippo Terzi, is one of the finest Renaissance cloisters in Portugal, with a calm, classical order that contrasts with the Manueline exuberance of the church. In 1581 Philip II of Spain was acclaimed King of Portugal in the convent, a moment that began sixty years of union of the crowns. The convent is surrounded by the wooded hills of the Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes, and walls of the Templar castle still stand around it. UNESCO listed the complex in 1983.

A visit takes two to three hours. The paths are long and there are steps, and the site opens daily with seasonal hours and an admission fee, so check ahead. Arrive early in summer to avoid heat and crowds.

It suits history readers, architecture lovers, and families with older children.