HOME
*



picture info

Alcobaça, Portugal
Alcobaça () is a Portuguese city and municipality in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers Alcoa and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality population in 2011 was 56,693, in an area of . The city proper has a population of 15,800 inhabitants. The city of Alcobaça became notable after the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, decided to build a church to commemorate the Conquest of Santarém from the Moors in 1147. The church later evolved into the Monastery of Alcobaça, one of the most magnificent gothic monuments in the country. In the church are the tombs of Pedro I of Portugal and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro. Over the centuries this monastery played an important role in shaping Portuguese culture. A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is the Monastery of Batalha, another gothic building constructed in memory of a different important battl ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Centro Region, Portugal
The Central Region ( pt, Região do Centro, ) or Central Portugal is one of the NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, statistical regions of Portugal. The cities with major administrative status inside this region are Coimbra, Aveiro, Portugal, Aveiro, Viseu, Caldas da Rainha, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Portugal, Castelo Branco, Covilhã, Torres Vedras and Guarda, Portugal, Guarda. It is one of the seven Regions of Portugal (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS II subdivisions). It is also one of the regions of Europe, as given by the European Union for statistical and Geography, geographical purposes. Its area totals . As of 2011, its population totalled 2,327,026 inhabitants, with a population density of 82 inhabitants per square kilometre. History Inhabited by the Lusitanians, an Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula, the Roman Republic, Romans settled in the region and colonized it as a part of the Roman Province of ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France. The style at the time was sometimes known as ''opus Francigenum'' (lit. French work); the term ''Gothic'' was first applied contemptuously during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious to revive the architecture of classical antiquity. The defining design element of Gothic architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. The use of the pointed arch in turn led to the development of the pointed rib vault and flying buttresses, combined with elaborate tracery and stained glass windows. At the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris, the choir was reconstructed between 1140 and 1144, draw ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), and can expand across the domains of the executive, legislative, and judicial. The succession of monarchs in many cases has been hereditical, often building dynastic periods. However, elective and self-proclaimed monarchies have also happened. Aristocrats, though not inherent to monarchies, often serve as the pool of persons to draw the monarch from and fill the constituting institutions (e.g. diet and court), giving many monarchies oligarchic elements. Monarchs can carry various titles such as emperor, empress, king, queen, raja, khan, tsar, sultan, shah, or pharaoh. Monarchies can form federations, personal unions and realms with vassals through personal association with the monarch, whi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contributions of the highly-influential Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, known as the Latin Rule. They are also known as Bernardines, after Saint Bernard himself, or as White Monks, in reference to the colour of the "cuculla" or cowl (choir robe) worn by the Cistercians over their habits, as opposed to the black cowl worn by Benedictines. The term ''Cistercian'' derives from ''Cistercium,'' the Latin name for the locale of Cîteaux, near Dijon in eastern France. It was here that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098, with the goal of following more closely the Rule of Saint Benedict. The best known of them were Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Cîteaux and the English ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Santarém, Portugal
Santarém () is a city and municipality located in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 58 671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the municipality of Santarém to Golegã in 2013 in an area of 552.54 km2. The population of the city proper was 29,929 in 2012. The mayor is Ricardo Gonçalves (PSD). The municipal holiday is March 19, the day of Saint Joseph (''São José''). The city is on the Portuguese Way variant of the Way of Saint James. History Since prehistory, the region of Santarém has been inhabited, first by the Lusitani people and then by the Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and later Portuguese Christians. Of the various legends related to the foundation of Santarém, the most famous tells of the Visigoth Saint Iria (or Irene), who was martyred in Tomar (''Nabantia'') and whose uncorrupted body reached Santarém. In her honour, the name of the town (then known by its Latin name '' Scalabis'') would later be changed t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Porto De Mós
Porto de Mós () is a town and a municipality of Estremadura province in Leiria District. It is in the Centro Region and the Pinhal Litoral subregion. The population in 2011 was 24,342, in an area of 261.83 km². There were archeologic findings which link São Jorge, in the parish of Calvaria de Cima, as the exact place where the Battle of Aljubarrota was fought, crucial for maintaining the independence of Portugal in 1385. Currently, there is an interpretation center on the spot (Centre of Interpretation of the Battle of Aljubarrota) which helps visitors explore the battlefield and learn about the most important facts of this battle. In this municipality, you can also find several caves carved in the mountains, the most important being Moinhos Velhos Cave, also known as Mira de Aire Cave. A portion of the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park is also located in Porto de Mós municipality. St. John Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 10 civil ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Óbidos, Portugal
Óbidos (; cel-x-proto, Eburobrittium) is a town ( pt, List of Towns of Portugal, vila) and a municipality in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, historical province of Estremadura Province (1936-1976), Estremadura, and the Leiria District, Leiria district. The town proper has approximately 3100 inhabitants. The municipality population in 2011 was 11,772, in an area of . History The name "Óbidos" is a Latinised (oppidum, citadel) derivation of the older Celtic "Eburobricio". The municipality had its growth from a Roman settlement near the foothills of an elevated escarpment. The region of Óbidos, extending from the Atlantic to the interior of Estremadura Province (1936–76), Estremadura Province along the rivers and lakes has been inhabited since the late Paleolithic. A settlement was constructed by early Celt tribes, that was later a centre of trade for the Phoenicians. Archeological evidence from the base of the medieval tower (south of Facho) at Castle of Óbidos, Óbidos C ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Caldas Da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (OesteCIM, Intermunicipal Community of the West). At the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 51,729 in an area of , with 30,343 residing in the city. Although the city itself lies about inland, three of the municipality's civil parishes lie on the Atlantic Ocean. Caldas da Rainha is best known for its sulphurous hot springs and ceramic pottery. The settlement was founded in the 15th century by Queen Leonor (Rainha Dona Leonor), who established a hospital and a church at the site of some therapeutic hot springs. The Hospital Termal Rainha D. Leonor (Queen Leonor Spring Water Hospital, or Thermal Hospital) is the oldest purpose-built institution of its kind in the world, with five centuries of histor ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nazaré, Portugal
Nazaré () is a Portugal, Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936-1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The municipality has a population of 14,889 in an area of 82.43 km2, while the town itself has around 10,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Costa de Prata, Silver Coast (''Costa de Prata''). The town of Nazaré consists of three neighbourhoods: ''Praia'' (along the beach), ''Sítio'' (an old village, on top of a cliff) and ''Pederneira'' (another old village, on a hilltop). ''Praia'' and ''Sítio'' are linked by the Nazaré Funicular, a funicular railway. The present mayor is Walter Chicharro, a member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is on 8 September, as part of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré, Our Lady Of Nazaré Festival, a ten-day religious and secular celebration with processions, bul ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Battle Of Aljubarrota
The Battle of Aljubarrota (; see Aljubarrota) was fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its Aragonese, Italian and French allies at São Jorge, between the towns of Leiria and Alcobaça, in central Portugal. The result was a decisive victory for the Portuguese, ruling out Castilian ambitions to the Portuguese throne, ending the 1383–85 Crisis and assuring John as King of Portugal. Portuguese independence was confirmed and a new dynasty, the House of Aviz, was established. Scattered border confrontations with Castilian troops would persist until the death of John I of Castile in 1390, but these posed no real threat to the new dynasty. To celebrate his victory and acknowledge divine help, John I of Portugal ordered the construction of the monastery of '' Santa Maria da ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Monastery Of Batalha
The Monastery of Batalha ( pt, Mosteiro da Batalha) is a Dominican convent in the municipality of Batalha, in the district of Leiria, in the Centro Region of Portugal. Originally, and officially, known as the ''Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory'' ( pt, Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória), it was erected in commemoration of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota and would serve as the burial church of the 15th-century Aviz dynasty of Portuguese royalty. It is one of the best and original examples of Late Flamboyant Gothic architecture in Portugal, intermingled with the Manueline style. History The monastery was built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, fulfilling a promise of King John I of Portugal. The battle put an end to the 1383–85 Crisis. It took over a century to build, starting in 1386 and ending circa 1517, spanning the reign of seven kings. It took the efforts of fifteen architects (''Mestre ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Portuguese Culture
The culture of Portugal is a very rich result of a complex flow of many different civilizations during the past millennia. From prehistoric cultures, to its Pre-Roman civilizations (such as the Lusitanians, the Gallaeci, the Celtici, and the Cynetes, amongst others), passing through its contacts with the Phoenician- Carthaginian world, the Roman period (see Hispania, Lusitania and Gallaecia), the Germanic invasions of the Suebi, Buri (see Kingdom of the Suebi) and Visigoths (see Visigothic Kingdom), Viking incursions, Sephardic Jewish settlement, and finally, the Moorish Umayyad invasion of Hispania and the subsequent expulsion, during the Reconquista, all have made an imprint on the country's culture and history. The name of Portugal itself reveals much of the country's early history, stemming from the Roman name ''Portus Cale'', a Latin name meaning "Port of Cale" (Cale likely is a word of Celtic origin - Cailleach-Bheur her other name; the Mother goddess of the Celtic ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]