2-370-762 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

Central nave of the church, 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 church was probably designed by French architects and was modelled on that of the Abbey of Clairvaux. When completed in 1252 it was the first Gothic church to be built in Portugal and remains the largest in the country to this day. Alcobaca Monastery was designated a World Heritage Site in 1989.