Tomar, Portugal

The town of Tomar was established in 1159 on land granted to the Knights Templar by the first king of Portugal D. Afonso Henriques. At the time the Order was playing a crucial role in the reconquest of territory from the Muslims and in the formation of the new kingdom of Portugal.
By order of Grand Master Gualdim Pais, in 1160 a Castle and a Convent started being built. Tomar would eventually become the headquarters of the Order in Portugal and local legend says that the choice was for mystical reasons and by divine inspiration. Also in 1160, the construction of the church of Santa Maria do Olival was ordered. Grand Master Gualdim Pais, as well as other twenty knights, are buried there.
In 1312 King Philip the Fair ordered the arrest and execution of the Knights Templar in France. To keep the wealth of the Knights Templar in the country, King D. Dinis created the Order of Christ. He also persuaded the Pope to allow the fugitive Knights Templar to join the new Order.
In 1418 Henry the Navigator became the Grand Master and, through his leadership, the Order planned and financed the beginning of the Age of Discoveries, carrying out the 15th-century maritime explorations.
In 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain and the town increased and prospered further with the arrival of the Jewish fugitives. Their experience was vital to the success of the trade routes with Africa. The original synagogue still stands. However, under pressure from the Kings of Spain, the Portuguese king D. Manuel I proclaimed that all the Jews in the kingdom should, after a short time, be proclaimed Christians. D. Manuel didn't want to lose the Jewish knowledge and capital and for several decades Jews were undisturbed as nominal Christians. All that came to an end with the establishment of the Inquisition which led thousands of Jews to flee the country. The town lost with the prosecution of its merchants and artisans.
With time the ancient Castle of Tomar and its Convent lost prominence as the Order of Christ also lost power and purpose. In 1834, with the extinction of religious orders in Portugal, the Castle and Convent were secularised. They were classified as National Monuments in 1907 and World Heritage, by UNESCO, in 1983.

How to get there: You can take the train from Lisbon or Oporto. Direct train from Lisbon takes under 2 hours and costs about €10, one way (Train timetable).
Convent of Christ
Praça da Republica
Synagogue of Tomar
Tomar Castle








Local: 2300 Tomar, Portugal

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gates of Mdina, Malta

Image
Mdina walls have three gates: the Mdina Gate, the Greeks Gate and the Gharreqin Gate. The Main Gate, also known as Vilhena gate, was built in 1724, under Grandmaster Antonio Manoel de Vilhena, who in 1722 ordered the renovation and restoration of Mdina. The courtyard behind the main gate was demolished to make way for the Vilhena Palace and a new gate had to be built, a few meters to the left of the old one, which was walled up. The Gate has reliefs of Saint Agatha, Saint Paul and Saint Publius, the three patron saints of Malta. The Greeks Gate is the oldest of the three Gates, dating back to medieval times. It was also renovated in 1724 when an outer portal was built in the baroque style. It is known as the Greeks Gate because a small community of Greeks once lived by the gate. For many years it was the only gate by which the slaves were allowed to enter Mdina. The Gharreqin Gate is the less known and most recent of the three Gates. It was excavated in the city
Read more

Church of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal

Image
The church of Santa Maria de Belém originated from the expansion,  ordered by Henry the Navigator in the 15th century,  of a previous hermitage built on the site. The new church was trusted to the Order of Christ- of which Henry the Navigator was the Grand Master- to help the seamen that passed by Belém, as the hermitage had done before. In 1501, by order of King D. Manuel I, the Monastery of the Hieronymites started being built and the small church was totally remodelled in the Manueline and Renaissance styles. It was the king's wish that the church should become a pantheon for the dynasty (Avis-Beja) started by him, and that it continued to help the travellers passing through Belém. Like the Monastery, the church was significantly restored in the 19th century. Inside the church are the tombs of several historical figures: Luís de Camões, one of Portugal's greatest poets who lived in the 16th century, Vasco da Gama, the first navigator to go to India by sea, King D. Sebast
Read more

Martim Moniz Square, Lisbon, Portugal

Image
According to legend, Martim Moniz was a knight in D. Afonso Henrique's army during the city's reconquest in 1147 (D. Afonso Henriques was the first king of Portugal). Seeing one of the gates open he threw himself into the breach, allowing for the invading army to enter at the cost of his own life. Martim Moniz square results from the demolition of Lower Mouraria in the mid 20th century, including the street after which the square is named. Only the chapel of Our Lady of Good Health survived the demolition. In the 90s the city council decided to make the toponym official and maintain the homage to the hero of questionable existence. During many years the square looked very degraded, until 2012, when the city council decided to renovate, adding new kiosks and esplanades. This square is also known as Lisbon's Chinatown, due to the existence of many Chinese and Indian shopkeepers. The fountain is a reference to the old wall, of which only an unrecognizable tower remains ne
Read more

Archaeological excavations in Lisbon's Cathedral Cloister, Portugal

Image
Archaeological excavations in Lisbon's Cathedral Cloister started in 1990. These excavations have unearthed remnants of human presence since the Iron Age.It's possible to see the remains of a Roman road with shops on both sides. This road would have connected the Roman Theater to the port area. From the Roman period, there's also part of a kitchen and a "cloaca" (sewage system).From later periods there are traces of Visigothic buildings and a very visible part of a Moorish building with red walls, probably related with the Mosque that once stood on the site where Lisbon's cathedral was built. Opening hours : 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket (standard) : €2.5 (€4 combined with the Treasury), cash only. Roman road and shops. Roman sewage system close to a Moorish public building. Moorish building.
Read more