Monastery of Arouca

The Monastery of Arouca was an important Cistercian monastery in Arouca in northern Portugal. From his great time in the 17th and 18th centuries witness the buildings and art treasures. In the former convent buildings now houses a museum of sacred art. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary is visited by pilgrims especially as active and tomb of the Blessed Mafalda of Portugal. The complex is listed as Monumento nacional since 1910.

History

The park dates back to a Benedictine monastery from the 10th century. It was in the 12th century, the immunity and became the political and administrative center of the region. Crucial for the further development of Mafalda was Portugal, as a woman Henry I briefly queen of Castile, then nun in Arouca († 1257 ). At her instigation, the Convention joined the Cistercian Order. They endowed the monastery generous.

A new spiritual and material Arouca flourished in the 17th century. At this time a complete new plant construction in early Baroque, oriented at the Herrera style figure was started, which lasted until the early 18th century. Important artists like Diogo Teixeira, Carlos Gimac and Miguel Francisco da Silva worked with it.

In the 19th century, the monastery witnessed the decline. 1886, after the death of the last Konventualin, it was canceled. Building and inventory fell to the state. After intensive restoration measures, the ensemble of buildings is now in good condition.