- HOME
- MONUMENT
- Convent of Christ
- History
- Architecture
- Personalities
- King Afonso Henriques
- D. Gualdim Pais
- King Dinis
- King John I
- D. Lopo Dias de Sousa
- King Duarte
- Prince D. Henrique (Henry
- King John II (1455 - 1495
- King Manuel I (1469 - 152
- Diogo de Arruda
- João de Castilho
- Jorge Afonso
- Olivier de Gand
- King John III (1502 - 155
- Diogo de Torralva
- Friar Anthony of Lisbon
- Baltazar de Faria
- Filipe Terzi
- Philippine Dinasty
- King Philip II of Spain
- King John IV
- Domingos Serrão
- Queen Mary II
- Prince Fernando
- Costa Cabral
- Artisans and Artists
- Intangible Heritage
- Related Heritage
- Glossary
- VISIT OUR MONUMENT
- HERITAGE LEARNING
- TOMAR
- MONASTERIES ROUTE
World Heritage
Tomar Castle and the Convent of Christ - headquarters for the religious and military orders of the Temple and of Christ - were awarded the UNESCO Heritage of Mankind classification and enrolled in UNESCO´s list of World Heritage in 1983.
The criteria that ruled its classification took especially into account the Templar´s Charola and the unusual western window of the Manueline nave - its construction extends and prolongs past the castle its own rotunda, the Knight´s primitive oratorium. The Charola, apart from being one of the best amongst the rare existing examples of the rotunda-shaped church, symbolizes the medieval European world of the crusades and the defence of faith. The Manueline window constitutes the first synthesis between European and Oriental art in its original decorative grammar.
Its architecture evokes a vast European art repertoire embodied in the styles that the passing centuries brought to the edifice. The rebirth convent itself was taken into account in the classification of the monastic complex. It is one of the bigger ones in Europe and, also, its main cloister is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture (according to its classification as a cultural asset in the UNESCO´s world heritage list at a meeting that took place in Paris on December 7th of 1982).
Criteria:
C i: representative of a masterpiece of humanity´s creative genius.
C vi: directly or materially linked to historical dates or traditions, ideas, beliefs or artistic and literary works with universal meaning.
Justification: The Committee´s 7th session Report.
National UNESCO website www.unesco.pt
International UNESCO website www.unesco.org
National UNESCO e-mail address cnu@unesco.pt
SERVICES - ACTIVITIES
HIGHLIGHTS
