Portugal Guide: Batalha

Batalha Monastery or Battle Abbey, also known as Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria.

Another Manueline colossus to match Jeronimos in Lisbon [Pictures], this 1434 abbey is a World Heritage site.
The outside is staggeringly ornate though the main nave inside is plain. The cloisters get the Manueline treatment however and are impressively ornate, but the roofless Capelas Imperfeitas [unfinished chapels] are the stars of the show. These are a mass of elaborate, asymmetric detailing made all the more exciting by being open to the heavens.

The abbey was built as result of a battle vow by Dom Joao of Avis when he went up against 30,000 Spanish troops with a mere 6,500 of his own men plus a few hundred English soldiers. Thanks to the Virgin Mary, Dom Joao won, of course.

Another two spectacular religious institutions, the monastery of Alcobaca and the original home of the Knights Templar - the Convent of Christ at Tomar - are in the area and make an excellent threesome travel target.
Fatima pilgrimage site is also nearby and not unlike Lourdes in its religious significance, but has nothing monumental for regular tourists. Also see Capela dos Ossos | Mafra monastery

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