Tomar
A UNESCO World Heritage Center
You may recall our visit to the Folks Next Door and my interest in learning more about the Knights Templar. (If you did not read this post or are unfamiliar with how the Knights survived in Portugal after being banished from the rest of Christendom, I suggest you take a few moments to read it now.)
Now that you are back…we can share our trip to Tomar.
Tomar
We visited Tomar during our recent trip to the Silver Coast. Just 75 minutes by car, the city is east/northeast of Foz do Arelho (just 50 minutes south of Coimbra). We have friends that were staying there for the month (having been banned from their Algarve apartment because of the summer season) who we had made plans to join for lunch. The five hours we set aside to explore the city of 20,000 was definitely not enough time. But we did take in a few highlights that we will share with you now.
Convent of the Knights Templar
Along with the castle complex, the Convent of Christ was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. The convent is a hodgepodge of architectural styles having been built and then expanded over 4 centuries. (And people think Barcelona’s Sagrada Família is taking a long time.)
Based on the crowds the main attraction of the Convent appears to be the Charola. I had to look up this term which means “a round walkway encircling the altar”. Built in the Romanesque style in the 12th century, the outside is a 16-sided polygon. Inside the round church is decorated with Gothic/Manueline sculptures of saints and angels and the walls are covered with paintings that were commissioned in 1499 by King Manuel I depicting the life of Christ.
As you tour the Chapter House you can observe monastic life. Long halls are lined with cells i.e. living quarters.
Cells are very basic. A small room (approximately 6’ x 8’) with a single window.
One can also tour the kitchen and dining area.
Based on our experience, you might want to plan your visit for the afternoon. We arrived about 10:00, just as several tour buses were unloading. We waited in line for more than 30 minutes to buy our tickets and many areas were very crowded. We walked back after lunch and found the buses and lines were gone.
Castle
The Castle, which is free to enter, pre-dates the church as construction began in 1160.
It has an outer defensive wall and a citadel(alcáçova) with a keep inside. The Keep, a central tower of residential and defensive functions, was introduced in Portugal by the Templars, and the one in Tomar is one of the oldest in the country. Another novelty introduced in Portugal by the Templars (learned from decades of experience in Normandy and Brittany and elsewhere) are the round towers in the outer walls, which are more resistant to attacks than square towers. When the town was founded, most of its residents lived in dwellings located inside the protective outer walls of the castle. — Wikipedia
While most of the Castle is quite rustic, there are moments (like the perfectly manicured garden above) that surprise you. In all, you will need 3-4 hours to tour this UNESCO site. And of course, there is more to Tomar than this. I suspect there will be another road trip…
I happily refreshed my memories from seeing these historical wonders of Tomar in 2019! thank you, Nancy
Wow, what a place. We continue to be amazed by those Knights. Also, the Charola very much reminded me of St Chapelle in Paris. Similar decoration on the columns. Love your travelogues.