Plans Plans Plans: Batalha

Batalha is named after a battle, the battle of Aljubarrota. Batalha literally means Battle.
Today Batalha is famed for the Dominican abbey of Santa Maria da Vitoria, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It is indeed a beautiful building, in the bright sunshine the pale limestone almost glows, indeed there does seem to be a good deal of repair and reinstatement. I was intrigued by the stumpy structures in the photo below (chimneys? surely not) I would find out later.

As we entered the church we again fell foul of the Portuguese tourist tax. Entry was free on the first Sunday of the month, free every Sunday before 2oclock, both conditions we had complied with. However entry was free only if you were a Portuguese resident. Of course this particular piece of information was written in Portuguese in very small print on a small notice on the counter you paid at. and nowhere else. Ho hum, this is a part of Portuguese culture that I for one find a bit wearing, it isn't individuals, its official bodies and in particular government departments. It usually involves making things very difficult to understand or even find. Road signs for example route you onto toll roads and it is impossible without a satnav to stay on non toll roads relying on road signs alone. However, I rant.........

The main entrance has obviously been a candidate for restoration.

The knave is a lofty vaulted space surprisingly lacking elaborate decoration,

to be honest it reminded me of an English Cathedral. Also it has to be said that entrance to the body of the church was free, only the side chapels and the rest of the abbey needed a ticket. we paid up and didn't regret it.

The main side chapel contains the tomb of King Joao and his wife who was an English lady Phillipa of Lancaster.

Of course from our point of view although it was nice to see a fellow Lancastrian in Portugal it was the tomb of their son Henry the Navigator that was of great interest. Although not an explorer himself his ships of the great age of discoveries helped to map the world.

The royal cloister has some beautiful Manueline tracery in the gothic arches,

The green of the foliage, the warm stone, and the tinkle of fountains all contribute to a sense of peace and tranquility, even among other visitors.

A small video that I shot.

Just off the cloisters is the Chapterhouse where two guards stand watch over the tom of two unknown soldiers from the first world war.

There are further buildings and cloisters.

it is then necessary to leave the building to cross the square and enter the unfinished chapels, there is no entrance from the main church. now the strange stumpy projections were explained.

From the outside the chapels seem to be a part of the main structure, in fact they are separate.

The intricate stonework we saw in the Royal cloisters was continued in elaborate fashion in the unfinished chapels. the carvings are very intricate and beautiful.

Almost every part is unique and I don't know if it was because of the exposure to the elements or whether it was a deliberate decision but the limestone was a lovely butter colour in parts.