Monastery of Batalha

I came to the city of Batalha to visit yet another monastery. It seems that Portugal was known for its monasteries and there was a sort of boom in building of these structures. The monastery of Batalha was built as thanksgiving for the victory of the Portuguese over the Castillians. The monastery was a long running project as it spanned the reign of several kings. Looking at the monastery, it is clear why it took so long to complete. The exterior of the church is gothic and it is very elaborate in its designs as compared to the design of the the monastery at Alcobaça.

Structure of the monastery gives the impression that it is very massive, this was probably an effect of having multiple architects over the course of the construction of the monastery. The overall design remained gothic but some architectural styles were beginning to seep in. The church doesn’t feel like it is very tall. However, this is probably because of the design which makes it look wide. I felt lucky, since it was such a lovely day and there were hardly any tourists here. It seems like this place doesn’t get too much tourist traffic either.

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