Alcobaça () is a Portuguese city and municipality in the intermunicipal community Oeste and the region Oeste e Vale do Tejo, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the

Leiria District The District of Leiria ( ) is a district located between the Oeste e Vale do Tejo and Centro regions of Portugal, and divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, ...

. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality population in 2011 was 56,693,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> 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 Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...

, decided to build a church to commemorate the

Conquest of Santarém The conquest of Santarém took place on 15 March 1147, when the troops of the Kingdom of Portugal under the leadership of Afonso I of Portugal captured the Taifa of Badajoz city of Santarém (at the time called Shantarin). Prelude On 10 March 1 ...

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 Peter I (; 8 April 1320 – 18 January 1367), known as Peter the Just () or Peter the Cruel (), was King of Portugal from 1357 until his death in 1367. Early life Born on 8 April 1320 in Coimbra, Peter was the fifth child of Afonso of Portug ...

and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro. Over the centuries this monastery played an important role in shaping

Portuguese culture The culture of Portugal designates the cultural practices and traditions of the Portuguese people. It is rooted on the interactions between many different civilizations that inhabited the area during the past millennia. From Prehistoric Iberia, ...

. A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is the Monastery of Batalha, another Gothic building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of

Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portugal, Portuguese city in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936–1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District, district of Leiria. The city serves a ...

and the medieval town of Óbidos. To the northeast is the town of Porto de Mós with its rebuilt castle.

History

Alcobaça became notable in the 12th century, when it was chosen as the future site of Portugal's largest church. In March 1147, the young King Dom

defeated the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

by capturing the city of Santarém. As a tribute to his victory, he vowed to build a magnificent home for the Order of Cistercians. It took another 76 years before this task was completed. The monarchy continued to carry out further construction and 60 years later King Dinis built the main cloister. The monastery was consecrated in 1262. The church contains the tombs of

and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro. Pedro had married Constanza, the ''

Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

'' (princess) of Castile, but escaped with his mistress Inês and later lived in the city of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

. His father, King Afonso IV, believing that the family of Inês was a threat to his kingdom, had her murdered. Shortly after the death of his father, Pedro declared that he had married Inês in a prior secret ceremony in Bragança, and took a gruesome revenge on the killers and exhumed her body. He presented the embalmed corpse at the court with a crown on her head and demanded that all his courtiers kneel and individually pay homage to her decomposed hand. Today, their ornate tombs face each other so that on

Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

his first sight would be of Inês. During the following centuries, the monks from this monastery had a major influence on the development of Portuguese culture. Notably, in 1269 they were the first to give public lessons to their congregation, and later they produced the first authoritative history on Portugal in a series of books. In 1810, the invading French pillaged the abbey, taking with them most of its most important treasures, including the noteworthy library. The items that remained were later stolen in 1834 during an anti-clerical riot and the banning of religious orders in Portugal.

Climate

Alcobaça has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

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:''Csb'') with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

Parishes

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 13 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Alcobaça e Vestiaria *

Alfeizerão Alfeizerão is a ''freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions ...

Aljubarrota Aljubarrota () is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Alcobaça, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the parishes of Prazeres and São Vicente. Its population in 2011 was 6,639Bárrio * Benedita * Cela * Coz, Alpedriz e Montes * Évora de Alcobaça * Maiorga * Pataias e Martingança * São Martinho do Porto * Turquel * Vimeiro

City information

The main feature of the city is essentially the monastery that proudly presents a long and sombre façade with 18th-century embellishments. This austerity is further emphasized in the cloisters with its apt name of "Cloister of Silence". In contrast within the Abbey is the massive kitchen with a running stream specially diverted to pass through as a supply of fresh water. The open area of the kitchen chimney is large enough to take a whole ox for roasting. The surround to the sacristy doorway is an outstanding example of

Manueline The Manueline (, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manueline architecture inco ...

decoration. In 1794, Lord Beckford visited the Abbey and commented that he found some 300 monks "living in a very splendid manner"! Alcobaça - panoramio (1).jpg, Alcobaça, panoramio Alcobaça Praça da República.jpg, Square in Alcobaça

Nearby locations

A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is another wondrous building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of

Aljubarrota Aljubarrota () is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Alcobaça, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the parishes of Prazeres and São Vicente. Its population in 2011 was 6,639 John I of Portugal John I ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in 1383–85 crisi ...

defeated the Castilians and ensuring two hundred years of independence from the Castilian invaders. The construction of the Abbey at Batalha commenced in 1388 and was added to by various Portuguese Kings over these next two centuries. To the east of Batalha is the world-famous location of Fátima and a point of pilgrimage for the Roman Catholic religion due to the vision of the Virgin Mary in 1917 by three young children whilst tending their flock. To the west of Alcobaça is the well-known fishing village of Nazaré. Today, the village is now a small town and a popular holiday resort with most of its past and traditions having rapidly evaporated in the course of time. A very successful Portuguese feature film was made in the early 20th century that dramatically captured the primitive and dangerous life of these fishermen. Stoutly Catholic, the inhabitants have retained some of their past as can be still seen in their own particular style of costume. To the south is

and the quaint medieval town of Óbidos that is an attraction for any tourists that enjoys a true glimpse of the past. Also to the south is the town of Porto de Mós with its fanciful rebuilt castle. This town borders the Nature Reserve Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros. These 390 square kilometres of limestone-covered landscape is also known for its caverns. The best known being the Grutas de Mira de Aire can be visited and consists of tunnels, caverns with stalactites, stalagmites, lakes, and a music and light finale.

Major events

* Market days – Every Monday * Carnaval de Alcobaça – February/March * Cistermúsica – classical music festival – June / July * Saint Bernard's fair – August 20 * Municipal holiday – August 20 * ''Marionetas na Cidade'' –

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

festival – mid-October * Saint Simon's fair – 4th week of October * International display of Sweets and Conventual Liqueurs – November

Notable people from Alcobaça

* Joaquim Ferreira Bogalho (1889–1977) the 20th president of S.L. Benfica * Virgínia Vitorino (1895–1967) a teacher, poet and playwright. * Joaquim Vieira de Natividade, (Wiki PT) (1899–1968) an agricultural engineer * Valdemar José Correia Barbosa Rodrigues, (Wiki PT) (b. 1965) an environmental engineer, ensaist and poet * José Aurélio, (Wiki PT) (born 1938) a sculptor, works in stone, wood and bronze *

João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...

(born 1942) a former footballer with 207 club caps * Alberto Costa (born 1947) politician,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, 2005–2009. *

Nuno Gonçalves Nuno Gonçalves (c. 1425 – c. 1491, ''fl.'' 1450–71) was a Portuguese artist whose work initiated the Portuguese Renaissance in painting. He was court painter for Afonso V of Portugal from 1450 to 1471, and in 1471 he was appointed the offi ...

, a Portuguese musician, founder of The Gift. *

João Traquina João Miguel Traquina André (born 29 August 1988), known as Traquina, is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Born in Alcobaça, Portugal, Alcoba ...

(born 1988) a Portuguese footballer with over 350 club caps * João Pedro Silva (born 1989) a Portuguese professional triathlete, competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

* The Gift (formed 1994) a Portuguese alternative rock band * Loto (formed 2002) an electro-pop-rock-dance music band * Spartak! (2006–2008) a musical collective from Alcobaça * JÜRA Popular pop artist based in Lisbon

International relations

Alcobaça is twinned with: * Aubergenville,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Bełchatów Bełchatów () is a city in central Poland with a population of 55,583, as of December 2021. It is located in Łódź Voivodeship, southwest of Warsaw. The Bełchatów Power Station, Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Cacuaco Cacuaco is a city and one of the nine municipalities that make up the Luanda Province, province of Luanda. A suburb of the capital, Luanda, it has a population of 1,279,488 (2019). Administrative divisions The Municipality of Cacuaco is made up ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

* Chicopee,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

External links

Municipality official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcobaca Populated places in Leiria District Cities in Portugal Populated places in Oeste e Vale do Tejo Municipalities of Leiria District World Heritage Sites in Portugal Iberian locality names of Arabic origin