The Batalha Monastery is one of Portugal’s masterpieces of Late Gothic architecture and also one of its most important monuments.

The monastery was built in thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary who answered the people’s prayers during the decisive battle of Aljubarrota and in keeping with the political and historical significance of this victory, the architecture of the monastery is quite magnificent and full of artistic flair. Its construction took a hundred and fifty years.

Its architecture was designed to be magnificently regal and majestic and it contains several royal tombs. Motifs of royal battledress partly decorate the interior of the church, a reminder of its former builder and patron, Joao The First, and through beautiful multi-coloured glass windows, rays of light illuminate a multitude of rich treasures.

Today, the numerous Gothic ornaments and beautiful glass windows of more recent times provide the monastery with a dignified show of colour. However, little remains of the Holy Dominican Order that worshipped within its walls for more than four centuries.

This exquisite monastery is quite rightly considered to be one of the most influential in the development of Portuguese architecture.