2-370-750 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

Statues in the refectory, Monastery of Alcobaca, Alcobaca, Portugal, 2009. The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaca was founded in 1153 by Afonso Henriques (Afonso I), the first King of Portugal. It was one of the most powerful abbeys of the Cistercian order. The refectory was the room in which the monks had their meals every day. While they ate, one of their number would read passages from the Bible aloud. Like the dormitory, the refectory has many pillars separating aisles and is covered by early Gothic rib vaulting. The remnants of the monastery library, including hundreds of medieval manuscripts, are now kept in the National Library in Lisbon. Alcobaca Monastery was designated a World Heritage Site in 1989.