Greg's Wanderings

Tag: Knights Templar

  • The castle and the convent

    The castle and the convent

    In 1160 after successfully driving the Moors out of Portugal, the Knights Templar were granted land in Tomar where they built a castle fortress. For approximately 150 years, the Castle of Tomar was their headquarters for the Templars.  In the early 1300s. the Templars were disbanded – something to do with debts of the king of France and a deal made with the pope.

    At that time, a convent (what I would call a monastery) was constructed adjacent to the castle. The two structures together are massive – just the gardens inside of the castle walls measure 65 acres. 

    I can’t do this structure justice by describing it with words so I’ll let pictures tell the story. 

    A view of the Castle walls
    From the wall looking down into the orchard
    You can walk around most of the ramparts
    Even the shooting ports are in the shape of the cross
    A guardhouse at the far end of the castle wall. A fireplace to keep them warm on cold nights
    A view of the city of Tomar from the Castle wall
    The castle keep
    The angle base of the castle walls was a defensive technique to make it difficult for siege engines
    One of the castle Gates
    A Knight, Templar greeting at the gate
    A 3-D model of the compound. The convent at the lower half and the cast in the upper half.
    One of four inner courtyards within the convent
    A chapel with tiled walls
    Exterior view of the convent
     The tile work was exquisite
    Another of the courtyards
    The main sanctuary
    The other end of the sanctuary
    A prayer room
    Architectural detail wherever you look
    Another courtyard
    The priority with 40 cells for the friars who lived at the convent
    A narrow circular staircase
    Courtyard #4
    The rectory
    Staircase down to the cistern
    The sister filled by an aqueduct that extended for 6.6 km
    Courtyard
    Oil storage room
    Aquaduct