The Monastery of Alcobaça — properly the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça — stands in the town of Alcobaça in western Portugal. It is the first fully Gothic building raised on Portuguese soil, its construction begun in 1178 by monks of the Cistercian Order. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989 and a Portuguese National Monument since 1910.
The monastery grew from lands granted by Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, in fulfilment of a vow made at the conquest of Santarém; the donation charter was signed in 1153. Modelled closely on the abbey of Clairvaux, from which the order sprang, Alcobaça became the head of a vast domain, and its 'white monks' played a notable civilising role, running a pharmacy and distributing bread and alms.
