2-377-133 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

The Convent of the Knights of Christ, Tomar, Portugal, 2009. Corridor decorated with ceramic tiles. The Convent of the Knights of Christ in Tomar is a combination of a castle and a convent and was used by the Knights Templar. Tomar itself was founded in the 12th century as the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal. In order to establish an easy cohabitation between the town and the Convent of the Knights of Christ, the castle was built in three distinct walled enclosures, surrounded by an extensive outer wall. The largest enclosure, which faced southwards, was the walled town, whose gateway overlooked the area known as Sete Montes. In the 16th century the town was emptied of its inhabitants and transformed into kitchen gardens and orchards for the monks of the Order of Christ. In recent times the vegetable gardens have been replaced by the Parque do Laranjal, where can be found evidence of the old town in the stones of the doorways and windows that have been preserved by time. The Templar Castle and the Convent were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.