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Batalha's abbey is one of Europe's greatest Gothic masterpieces and is protected as a World Heritage monument. It was built in 1388 after King João I made a vow to the Virgin that he would build a magnificent monastery if she granted him a victory over the Castillians in the Battle of Aljubarrota.

An equestrian statue of Nuno Alvares Pereira, the king's commander at the battle, stands before the southern façade.

llustration of the Battle of Aljubarrota by Jean de Wavrin

Unfinished chapels

Capela do FundadorThe exterior possesses innumerable pinnacles, buttresses and openwork balustrades above Gothic and Flamboyant windows, while the front portal is decorated with statues of the apostles in intricate Gothic style. In the vast Gothic interior are 16th-century stained-glass windows of exceptional beauty. The monastery took two centuries to build, started in 1388 and several Kings of Portugal wanted to leave their mark on this construction built in pale stone

The wedding of João I of Portugal, 11 February 1387 with Philippa of Lancaster, by fifteenth century painter and manuscript illuminator Master of Wavrin, from around Lille, now in France

Capela do Fundador

Statues of the Apostles of the main entrance portal to the Dominican abbey church of Batalha

In the Founder's Chapel are the tombs of King João (1358 –1433), his queen Philippa of Lancaster, and of their younger sons, including Prince Henry the Navigator.

tomb of King João (1358 –1433) and his queen Philippa of Lancaster

the main chapel of the church

The Chapter House guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, where the bodies of two casualties of World War I lie. The vaulting is an outstandingly bold feat (an unparalleled example of the Gothic style), rising to a height of 20m (60ft) without intermediary supports - only condemned criminals were used to build it.

The ceiling of this room is world famous for its construction without supportive pillars, and the work was so dangerous to perform that it was done by prisoners already sentenced to death

Fountain inside the Cloister of King Joao I

The Royal Cloisters were first built in Gothic style in the late 1380s, but Manueline embellishments were added a century later. Typical Manueline symbols such as plants and flowers of the newly discovered lands and other seafaring motifs carved in every arch illustrates the variety and excitement of Portuguese art during the Age of Discovery.

The two stained glass windows shown on the right are Christmas stamps issued 1983, and are from the Batalha Monastery.  They depict The Adoration of the Magi, and The Escape from Egypt.  

Portugal 1983Stained Glass Windows from Batalha

Sound: Amália Rodrigues - Triste Sina; Anjo Inútil

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu InternetCopyrights of the photos belong to each photographer

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda