The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Santa Maria Dos Olivais

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Closes at 4pm (May 25), the courtyard has been kindly opened until 5pm.

The Praça da República and the Igreja Matriz de São João Baptista are the historical and cultural heart of Tomar, a city deeply linked to the history of the Knights Templar in Portugal. This square is the nerve center of Tomar, surrounded by historic buildings and offering a charming atmosphere.

The Templar Castle was built at a strategic point to defend the territory and support the conquest beyond the Tagus River. Construction began in 1160 under the Templar Master D. Gualdim Pais. The north wing and higher ground housed the Templar Palace, with two pillars: to the east and at its highest point, the citadel with its rectangular control tower, and to the west, the fortified religious temple—the Templar Charola. Several towers and turrets are located along the extensive wall. The entire outer perimeter of this wall was protected by a rampart—a stone wall simulating a hill at the base, thus impeding the advance of assault engines, sentinels, and climbers. The wall, towers, and quadrangular and semicircular turrets contain rectilinear loopholes and broad battlements. The various military-architectural solutions undoubtedly originate from the Middle East, where King Gualdim Pais stayed for five years during the Crusades. The Charola was probably built or completed shortly after the fortifications and is intended to commemorate the Holy Sepulchre and Solomon's Temple. This castle was also the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal. https://opctj.pt/castelo-templario-charola-e-convento-de-cristo-de-tomar/ The castle complex, with its walls and extensive gardens, is open to the public free of charge.

Originally located within the walled enclosure of Tomar Castle, its construction dates back to its origins (c. 1160) and is closely linked to the beginnings of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Order of the Templars (later the Order of Christ). The Charola was the private oratory of the knights within the fortress. Completed in 1190, the entrance to the Charola originally faced east. The Charola is not only a place of worship and meditation, but also a symbol of the ideals and beliefs of the Templar Order. It commemorates the Templars' connection to the Christian faith and their mission to protect the Holy Land. The Charola also symbolizes the unity and strength of the Order. As an octagonal space, it represents the eight Templar virtues: courage, honor, mercy, integrity, humility, sincerity, fraternity, and faith. These values are the foundation of their actions and our decisions. It was significantly remodeled in the 16th century. A major breakthrough in the west added it during the reign of D. Manuel I as the main chapel of the attached Munuelist church. Further details can be found here: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charola_do_Convento_de_Cristo A virtual tour is available here: https://mpembed.com/show/?m=fBGNBFFcNDc

This impressive window is part of the Manueline Church and Chapter House of Manuel I. The Manueline church nave is adorned, both inside and out, with lush symbolic, heraldic, and sacred sculptures. All architectural elements – corner basins, pinnacles, buttresses, windows, etc. – are characterized by figurative motifs of deep plasticity that conceal their architectural and structural function. The most striking example of this formal design are the windows of the Manueline church. Originally there were three, today two remain: The second window, facing south, is visible from the main cloister; the other, on the west facade, is known as the Janela do Capítulo. This window is flanked by two huge buttresses and is adorned with a lush world of figures that includes maritime themes (wood, rigging, buoys, etc.), the insignia of the Order (the heraldic cross, the armillary sphere, the coat of arms of the kingdom), and symbolic figures characteristic of the mysticism of spiritual knighthood and the mission of the Order of Christ in the Discoveries. http://www.conventocristo.gov.pt/pt/index.php?s=white&pid=187&identificador=ct116_pt From the inside, the window appears rather unremarkable.

At the beginning of the 16th century, King Manuel I, drawing on the existing Charola of the Templars in the area of Castelo de Tomar, had this magnificent Manueline church building erected, transforming the Charola into a chapel of his conventual church. To this end, he had the Charola broken open to the west and the opening adorned with a triumphal arch, conceived and built by Joo de Castilho in 1515. The narrow church area that resulted behind the magnificent portal subsequently served as the choir and stage. The Manueline nave has a unified space, covered by a lowered ribbed vault with corbels. The altar portal is full of grotesques, plant elements, and large statues. The three windows, friezes, and balustrades of the Manueline corpus feature plant, emblem, and grotesque decorations. I was surprised by how simply the imposing entrance portal and the famous Manueline window to the west present themselves inside the church.

The rooms dedicated to intellectual activities of the Kloster der Krähen, such as the library and the scriptorium, are arranged around a square floor plan. In the 19th century, after the Liberal Revolution and the abolition of religious orders, the west wing was converted into a neoclassical palace. To help place this within the complex building jumble of the total of eight cloisters in the entire area of the current Convent do Christo, here is some help: anyformsdesignmapas.blogspot.com/2014/09/convento-de-cristo-tomar.html