Batalha - Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória

The church, built during the reign of Joao I, is a finely conceived example of the noblest Gothic style. Particularly notable are the west front with its rich sculptural decoration (partly restored) and the lively articulation of the south side.

The interior (80m/260ft long, 32.5m/107ft high) is very impressive, with its high stained glass windows (some of them very old, particularly in the choir) and its massive piers. Set in the floor immediately inside the main entrance is the flat tombstone of Mateus Fernandes the Elder.

From the south aisle a magnificent doorway leads into the Founder's Chapel (Capela do Fundador), almost 20m/65ft square, with many fine tombs. In the middle is the sarcophagus, supported on eight lions, of Joao I (d. 1433) and his English wife Philippa of Lancaster (d. 1416). In recesses on the south side of the chapel are the tombs of four of the royal couple's children: at the left-hand end the tomb of the Infante Dom Fernando, the "steadfast prince" of Calderon's tragedy, who died in Moroccan captivity in 1443; next to this the double tomb of the Infante Joao (d. 1442) and his wife Isabella; and the tombs of the Infante Dom Henrique (1394-1460; see Famous People), known to history as Henry the Navigator, although he himself never took part in any voyages of discovery, and the Infante Dom Pedro (1392-1449). On the west wall of the chapel are the tombs of King Afonso V (d. 1481) and his wife, and King Joao II (d. 1495) and his son Afonso.

The Chapterhouse, on the east side of the Claustro Real, has an imposing doorway and fine stained glass depicting the Passion of Christ. The tomb of two unknown soldiers from the First World War has a permanent guard of honor.

A doorway at the northwest corner of the Claustro Real gives access to the Claustro de Dom Afonso V, with simple double windows and a plain pillared gallery (15th C.) on the upper floor. To the east of this cloister is the Claustro de Joao III, destroyed by fire in 1811.

The equestrian statue placed before the southern facade of the church in 1961 is of Nuno Alvares Pereira, Joao I's commander at the battle of Aljubarrota.

In the northwest corner of the Claustro Real is the chapel-like fountain-house, from which there are attractive glimpses of the abbey.

The former Refectory, on the west side of the cloister beyond the fountain house, now houses the Museum of the Unknown Soldier, and in the monks' cellar various architectural items are on display together with an exhibition of Portuguese history.

The Museum of the Unknown Solider is a World Heritage Site.

On the north side of the Abbey Church is the Royal Cloister, the Claustro Real, a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic with its richly decorated arcades overlooking a garden-like courtyard. Here can be seen the whole range of Gothic in Portugal, from the simplest and plainest forms to the fantastic profusion of ornament of later periods. The stone tracery is mostly modern. From the cloister there is a fine view of the richly decorated north side of the church.

The Unfinished Chapels, the Capelas Imperfeitas, were built on to the east end of the church in the reigns of Duarte and Manuel I in the richest Manueline style. Surrounding a central octagon are seven large chapels, one of which contains the tomb of King Duarte (Eduard, son of Joao I) and his wife Eleanor of Aragon. The massive buttresses around the inside of the octagon were designed to support the dome, which was left unfinished. On the west side is a large vestibule, with a magnificent doorway almost 15m/50ft high and above this a gallery opening on to the octagon.