Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória AKA Batalha Monastery
written by zulupt
on September 16th, 2009
, 12 comments
(11 votes)
The main work on this building lasted from 1386 until 1517, requiring extraordinary materials and human resources. The style from this phase is called Rayonnant Gothic, the Gothic style can be observed in Portuguese buildings from this date but the Flamboyant style introduced by Huguet was first used in this building.
Over the years, Batalha Monastery has suffered several setbacks, the worst of which was perhaps the dissolution of the religious orders in 1834. In 1840, King Fernando II made great efforts to recover it. The restoration continued until the early years of the 20th century. The jewel of gothic architecture was saved.
Of the few surviving items that complemented the architectural work, the remains of the medieval stained glass window should be mentioned; the first workshop for stained glass windows in Portugal was at Batalha. The oldest pieces date back to the end of 1430s, the best preserved are from 1520 and 1530.
One of the most attractive parts from the Batalha Monastery is the Imperfect chapels, whose style reflects the Italian Renaissance. The Manueline style was also born at Batalha Monastery and spread to the rest of Portugal; you can find it in the tracery over the window in the main cloister and portal to the Imperfect chapels. In 1983, UNESCO added the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória to its list of World Heritage sites.
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