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Alcobaça is chiefly interesting for its Cistercian convent, now partly converted into schools and barracks. The monastic buildings, which form a square 725 ft. in diameter, with a huge conical chimney rising above them, were founded in 1148 and completed in 1222. During the middle ages it rivalled the greatest European abbeys in size and wealth. It was supplied with water by an affluent of the Alcoa, which still flows through the kitchen; its abbot ranked with the highest Portuguese nobles, and, according to tradition, 999 monks continued the celebration of Mass without intermission throughout the year.

The convent was partly burned by the French in 1810, secularized in 1834 and afterwards gradually restored. Portions of the library, which comprised over 100,000 volumes, including many precious manuscripts, were saved in 1810, and are preserved in the public libraries of Lisbon and BragaBraga is a city in northwestern Portugal, in the province of Minho, and capital of Braga district is an important town of Continental Portugal with a population of 112089 in 23 parishes(Urban Area) the Municipality has 62 parishes and 163784 inhabitants (. The monastic church ( 1222) is a good example of early GothicGothic architecture characterizes any of the styles of European architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, in use throughout Europe during the high and late medieval period, from the 12th century onwards. It was succeeded by, somewhat defaced by MoorA high altitude form of heathland habitat widespread in northern Britain; see heath. A type of wetland; see bog. Person of Moorish (North African) ethnicity; see Moors. Mooring, attaching a boat to a riverbank or towpath.ish and other additions. It contains a fine cloisterCloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France A Cloister is part of cathedral's and abbey's architecture. A cloister consists usually of four corridors, with a courtyard or quad in the middle. Cloisteral life is another name for the life of a monk or nun. and the tombs of Peter IPedro I of Portugal king of Portugal (in English, Peter I , sometimes known as Pedro the Cruel (not to be confused with Pedro I of Castile, also known as Pedro the Cruel , was born in April 8 1320 and died in January 18 1367. He was the son of Afonso IV o (1357-1367) and his wife, Inez de Castro.

The Monastery of Alcobaça is listed as a World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by UNESCO. The program aims to catalogue, name, by the UNESCO.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica