Historic Places Part Four, March 15, 2023

 Batalha (bah-TAHL-yah) is home to the great Monastery of Santa Maria, considered Portugal's finest architectural achievement.  It celebrates a dramatic medieval battle that took place near here that secured Portugal independence from Spain, hence the town's name, "Battle".  To celebrate the victory King Joao 1 thanked the Virgin Mary with a new church and monastery.

The Church of Our Lady of Victory is a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic architecture and construction begun in 1138 and continued over the next two centuries.
                                           The main entrance that leads to the church interior

 The tall pillars leading your eyes up to the pointed arches are classic "Gothic" from Europe's Age of Faith.  The church's lack of ornamentation gives it a more somber feeling.  We were very fortunate to arrive just as the choir was practicing and it was beautiful to hear as we explored its interior.

Exiting the church to see the unfinished chapels, seen on the left 

The elaborate doorway entrance to the unfinished chapels was added in 1509, considered a masterpiece of Manueline style.  The series of ever larger arches are carved in stone and are so detailed they look like stucco.
The unfinished chapel was intended as a octagonal room with seven niches for the tombs of the royal family.  Construction started in 1434, the first year of King Duarte's rule and everything but the roof was completed.    

King Duarte and his wife, Leonor, lie hand-in-hand on their backs, watching the clouds pass by, blissfully unaware of the work left undone.  King Manual 1, Duarte's grandson added the elaborate doorway but did not complete the chapel as Portugal's money and energy was used to build another monastery in Belem. 





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