Convent of Christ

About this place

The Convent of Christ is a former convent and castle in the town of Tomar in central Portugal, standing on a hill above the town. The castle and convent were listed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, about 116 km in a straight line from Lisbon. The Knights Templar founded the castle in 1118, its round oratory was finished around 1160, and Tomar became the Templars' seat in Portugal. When the order was dissolved in the 14th century its Portuguese branch became the Knights of the Order of Christ, who backed Portugal's sea voyages of discovery in the 15th century, and the convent grew in later centuries with new cloisters and wings. Stone walls enclose a broad complex of golden buildings, dominated by the round, many-sided church with its windows and small turrets. Stone paths and trees fill the gardens, and beside the convent a long stone aqueduct with tall arches runs between olive trees. A visit takes one to two hours, with many steps between the cloisters. The aqueduct can be seen from the road outside the walls.