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Our campsite nestles in rural surroundings sited by woods within
walking distance of rivers and the lake. 5 miles away you will find the
reservoir of Castelo de Bode, stretching 40 miles
and offering various water activities as swimming and fishing.
The vicinity around Pelinos is known for it's
historical villages and towns. There are many places of interest to visit
for those who are interested in cultural history. |
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webdesign by Bluesbarn Alqueidâo © 2008
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Tomar is a charming and historically
outstanding town on the banks of the Nabão River.
It is dominated by a 12th-century Templar castle containing one of the country's most significant and impressive monuments, the
Convent of Christ (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO). The main shopping street, the pedestrian Rua
Serpa Pinto, leads to the Gothic Church of São João Baptista,
on Praça da República, the town's elegant main square surrounded by
17th-century buildings. The 15th century church has an elegant Manueline portal and inside are 16th century paintings,
including a Last Supper by Gregório Lopes, one of
the finest of the country's 16th century artists. In the heart of town is a neat grid of streets,
and on Rua Dr. Joaquim
Jacinto is a well-preserved synagogue, one of Portugal's oldest, built in
1430. It was last used as a place of worship
in 1497, when King Manuel I expelled all Jews who refused to convert to
Christianity. It has four tall towers and a vaulted ceiling, and holds a
small Jewish Museum named after Abraham Zacuto, a
famous 15th-century astronomer and mathematician who helped build
navigational aids for Vasco da Gama.
It contains 15th-century Jewish tombstones and sacred items donated by Jewish
communities around the world. Not too far is the 17th-century church of São
Francisco with a Match Museum in its former cloisters. It is an eccentric and
interesting museum with the largest collection in Europe, displaying over
43,000 matchboxes from 104 countries. On the east side of the river is a 13th-century church that was once
the mother church for mariners in the Age of Discovery. The Church of Santa
Maria do Olival has a Gothic façade and a
distinctive three-story bell tower. Inside are the graves of Templar Masters
and an elegant Renaissance pulpit. On the hill leading up to the castle
is the little Renaissance Nossa Senhora da Conceição
Church, built in 1530 with a simple exterior but with elegantly carved
Corinthian columns inside. Across the old bridge is another small church, that of Santa Iria, the town's patron saint. She was a young nun who
lived in Tomar in the 7th century, but was murdered
and thrown into the river after a feud between two rival suitors, a nobleman
and a monk. A legend says one of them gave her a potion to appear pregnant
and the other killed her in a fit of rage. The church, built in the 16th
century, has a coffered painted ceiling and 17th-century tiles. |
Photo's by Dias |
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Photo's by
Dias |
The Order of the Knights Templar that helped the Portuguese fight the
Moors in the 12th and 13th centuries were rewarded with extensive land and
political power. King Dinis renamed it the Order of Christ and castles and
churches were built to protect the Templars. One of
those was the castle and convent of Tomar, one of
Portugal's most brilliant architectural accomplishments that was built in 1162. In 1418 Prince Henry the Navigator, Grand Master of the Order, built
the extraordinary Charola and the Templars' fortress. In the 1550's the Great Cloister and Manueline flourishes were added. An elaborate portal leads to the outstanding nave with exuberant Manueline decoration.
Next to it is the Charola where the Templars attended mass on horseback, with a layout based
on the Rotunda of Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre. It has a central octagon of
altars and includes 16th-century paintings and frescoes. From there, the conventual buildings are
spread around several cloisters. The Great Cloister is Renaissance in style
with two levels. The ground level has Tuscan columns and the upper, Ionic. On a terrace above it is outstanding Manueline
decoration, including a famous window that is the most extraordinary example
of Manueline-style ornament. It was sculpted in 1510 with motifs of the
ocean and the Age of Discovery: tangled "ropes",
"seaweed," coral, the Cross of the Order of Christ, and the royal
arms and armillary spheres of King Manuel, all evoking the feeling and spirit
of the great Age of Discovery. The oldest cloister in the convent is the Gothic Cemetery Cloister
with tiles and tombstones of monks. Vasco da Gama's brother, Diogo da Gama, lays here. |
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There is a spectacular festival in Tomar
that takes place every four years (the last one was in 2007) called Festa dos Tabuleiros
("Festival of the Platters"). There is a procession of about 400
girls in white carrying towers of platters with bread and flowers on their
heads, along with music and fireworks. On the following day, bread and wine,
blessed by the priest, is handed out to local families. Every Friday you can visit the gypsy market in Tomar. At our info board you will find a list with local markets. On a regular basis, local clubs organize 4x4 events. Most of the villages are organizing a festival once a year. These
events take mostly three or four days and are known for traditional products
and music. |
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Links to buildings in Tomar Convento de Cristo Igreja de São João Baptista
Our tip:
visit the village of Dornes with it's
historic buildings and great lake views.
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Links to places nearby Batalha - European
Gothic masterpiece; spectacular underground caves Fatima - Famous
shrine of the Catholic world Obidos - The
wedding present town; Portugal's prettiest medieval village Nazare - Colorful, traditional fishing village Alcobaça - Europe's
greatest Cistercian temple Leiria - An old
castle in a modern city Santarém - The
country's bullfighting capital; Gothic churches |
