Title

The Convent of the Knights of Christ, Tomar, Portugal, 2009. Artist: Samuel Magal

Caption

The Convent of the Knights of Christ, Tomar, Portugal, 2009. Ceramic tiles. The Convent of the Knights of Christ in Tomar is a combination of a castle and a convent and was used by the Knights Templar. Tomar itself was founded in the 12th century as the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal. In order to establish an easy cohabitation between the town and the Convent of the Knights of Christ, the castle was built in three distinct walled enclosures, surrounded by an extensive outer wall. The largest enclosure, which faced southwards, was the walled town, whose gateway overlooked the area known as Sete Montes. In the 16th century the town was emptied of its inhabitants and transformed into kitchen gardens and orchards for the monks of the Order of Christ. In recent times the vegetable gardens have been replaced by the Parque do Laranjal, where can be found evidence of the old town in the stones of the doorways and windows that have been preserved by time. The Templar Castle and the Convent were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.

Date

1967

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/Samuel Magal

Reference

HRM19D78_217

Model release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

49,9Mb (2,7Mb) / 11,4in x 17,0in / 3409 x 5114 (300dpi)

Keywords

Europe building buildings interior indoors religious architecture archway arch country Portugal religion continent European castle color colour decoration decorative medieval fortress Christianity fortification ceramic tiles corridor location ceiling century convent inside photograph knight concept Portuguese 21st century world heritage site Architectural Feature mediaeval UNESCO Middle Ages knights templar Tomar historic 12th century nunnery order of knights TGN photograph Santarem Sites & Photos Samuel Magal Convent of the Knights of Christ Knights of the Order of Christ Santarém Gualdim Pais Pais Gualdim Magal Samuel Gualdim Pais photograph