The Convento de Cristo (convent of Christ) or if you prefer Tomar castle is one of the finest castles you will ever see, in 1983 it was classified by
Unesco as a world heritage site, it is without doubt a unique peace of Portugal’s history and is well worth the visit to Tomar alone.
It is thought by many to stand on the remains of a Roman place of worship, evidence of this is in the shape of a stone at the base of the Templar tower clearly from a Roman Sacrificial alter. The castle itself dates back to the year 1160 and D. Gualdim Pais the leader of the famously powerful Knights Templar ordered the fortified church built from where the castle centres around. The church itself is a gold encrusted jewel of a place bristling with art and historical treasures. This location was apparently due to a legendary vision shared by the knights of a castle on a hill. Tomar town was also founded at the same time. As you walk through this labyrinth of passageways you will see a variety of styles depicting several centuries of construction and there many different styles of architecture. In the year 1249 the Moors where finally driven from Portugal, as a reward for their part in this the Knights where given immense tracts of land. The wealth of the Templars (evident in the splendour of the castle) grew so great that the Monarchies of Europe began to fear them. Eventually King Phillippe Le Belle of France, perhaps fearful or indeed in need of a Royal boost to the coffers confiscated all land and titles from the order, possibly seeing this as an opportunity to get rid of the Knights Pope Clement disbanded the order. The ruler of Portugal at that time was Dom Dinis, he had little option but to obey the Pope but in a masterful piece of early re-branding started a new order called the Knights of Christ, knights fleeing for there lives from France and Spain made there way to Portugal and Tomar castle soon became the headquarters for the new order. Henry the navigator some 50 years later took charge of the order and built a fleet of ships, the transformation of the knights to explorers and of a nation to an empire had began. Records of the exploits of Portuguese maritime explorers are recorded in the architecture of the castle. After this period the castle continued to grow but in different veins, King D. Joao lll following the ideas of the Counter Reformation turned the order around and disbanded the military arm turning the knights into monks. It was at this point that work on the huge convent began. The story of the Convento de Cristo is told through its fabulously diverse art and architecture from Romanesque and Renaissance art to its Manueline windows and gothic styling. You will also find that the baroque period is clearly defined in many of the decorations and finally culminates in the 19th century neo-classical palace. Tomar castle is not to be missed.
