Alcobaca & Caldas da Rainha 2024 Cultural Sites

Cultural Sites

Museu do Hospital e das Caldas, Caldas da Rainha
Cultural Sites
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Alcobaça
Armazém das Artes
The Armazém das Artes was founded in 2007 by the sculptor José Aurélio and operated until 2012. It reopened in March 2023 to resume its regular activities and the mission to which it is dedicated. The Armazém das Artes – Cultural Foundation has always been characterised by welcoming art in its most diverse forms, giving it a stage and a space. The main focus of the Armazém das Artes is on exhibitions, but it also develops various other activities to develop perspectives and reflections on what is presented. The Foundation values and promotes the development of critical thinking, as well as broad and accessible access to art and culture.	R. Eng. Duarte Pacheco 38, Alcobaça, Portugal Instagram
Camonian Route: Pedro & Inês in Alcobaça’s Ceramics
The route “Pedro and Inês in Alcobaça’s ceramics” was created to show the ceramic art of an interpretation of the episode of Inês de Castro from “Os Lusíadas”, a 16th century poem by the Portuguese poet Luís Vaz de Camões. It also includes a sonnet by the same author and another by Miguel Torga (20th century). Public space, open at all times. Publication
Mosteiro de Alcobaça
Declared a World Heritage Site in 1989, the Monastery of Alcobaça has centuries of history within its walls. Its 900 years of existence are marked by the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal, the legacy of the Cistercians and the eternal love story between D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro. The Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça was founded in 1153, after the first King of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, gave the territory that would become Coutos de Alcobaça to Bernard of Clairvaux, the great promoter of the Cistercians in Europe. It was considered one of the most important Cistercian foundations in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most splendid abbeys in Europe. Construction of the monastery began in 1178. A new architectural style was introduced, the Gothic style, making it the first completely Gothic building in Portugal.	In this magnificent monastery, the church, the chapter house, the cloister of St. Dinis, the royal room, the dormitory, the refectory and the kitchen stand out. A visit to the monastery is not complete without a visit to the church! Let yourself be enchanted by the tombs of Don Pedro I and Dona Inês de Castro, the most famous lovers in the world. We recommend that you pay close attention to these unique elements of our heritage. It is said that the tombs face each other, so that on the Day of Resurrection, the couple will get up and face each other again, this time remaining together “until the end of the world”. Praça 25 de Abril, 2460-018 Alcobaça Mon to Sun 9am – 7pm Website
Município de Alcobaça, Foto: Rui Miguel Pedrosa \| www.ruimiguelpedrosa.com
Museu das Máquinas Falantes
The Talking Machines Museum is perhaps the youngest Portuguese museum dedicated to the heritage of sound, telecommunications and radio. Inaugurated on 25th April 2024, the Municipality of Alcobaça made public and accessible a fabulous collection consisting of two components: Mechanical machines related to sound, such as phonographs, gramophones, music boxes, cylinders and electrical and electronic equipment related to telecommunications and radio, such as telephones, telegraphs, radios, recorders, records, cassettes, microphones and many other objects. The museum is based on the private collection of José Madeira Neves, a former employee of RDP, which was later acquired by the Municipality of Alcobaça.	The museum’s collection is of unquestionable historical, scientific and museological importance in the national context. In some areas, it even has a central position in Portugal (e.g. sound media/phonograms). The museum, represented by this important collection, aspires to mark the panorama of museums, fulfilling the contemporary objectives of knowledge, supported by its multifaceted collection, covering an evolutionary path that goes from the mechanical era to the advent of electricity. Rua Araújo Guimarães, 28, Alcobaça Tue to Sun 10am – 12:30pm / 2pm – 6pm Website
Museu do Vinho de Alcobaça
The largest national wine collection in a museum setting is in Alcobaça. The old cellar of Olival Fechado is the most authentic and richest space dedicated to wine in Portugal. A place for lovers and connoisseurs, it houses the historical heritage of the National Wine Board, a collection of over 10,000 pieces. Here you will find everything from rare relics, such as Alentejo earthenware pots from the 17th to the 19th centuries, to a huge amount of industrial and ethnological archaeology from the 19th and 20th centuries, not forgetting the purest expression of wine culture, whether through popular or fine art. A place for sensations and experiences. After all, what other museum in the world allows you to walk among and inside the deposits that once contained wine?	Leiria Street. S/N, Closed Olive Grove, 2460-059 Alcobaça Tue to Sun: visits at 10am, 11am, 12pm / 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm Website
Museu Raul da Bernarda
Raul da Bernarda e filhos Lda. is the oldest ceramic factory in Alcobaça. Founded in 1875 by José dos Reis, an artisan from Coimbra, this small factory introduced utilitarian faience pottery to the town, as part of the tradition and taste of Coimbra production. This line was followed by Manuel Ferreira da Bernarda, who owned the company from 1900 and managed it until the end of the 1920s. From the 1930s, under the management of his son Raul da Bernarda, the factory acquired a new and decisive creative and artistic impulse, largely dominated by the dynamism of its entrepreneur, but also supported by a team of excellent ceramic painters who would mark the regional and national decorative art with the expansion known as artistic ceramics of Alcobaça. The permanent collection on display at the Raul da Bernarda Museum thus aims to record and celebrate a heritage with a history of more than 135 years, whose unique pieces, displayed in chronological order, document the beauty, importance and wealth of Alcobaça’s ceramic industry.	Ponte D. Elias, 2460-261 Alcobaça Wed to Fri 10am – 1pm / 2pm – 5pm Sat, Sun 2pm – 6pm Website
Caldas da Rainha
Casa Museu São Rafael
The Museum in the former studio of Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro gathers part of his work. The collection is mainly made up of ceramics produced over time in Bordallo Pinheiro’s factory. It includes copies and original pieces designed by the artist at the end of the 19th century.	Rua Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 53, Caldas da Rainha 18 Sept 5pm – 7:30pm 20 Sept 3pm – 6pm
Ermida de São Sebastião
The Chapel originally built in the XVI century was completely rebuilt during the reign of King João V. All that remains of its primitive structure is a rosette carved in stone on the whitewashed façade to the south of the chapel. Its artistic importance lies in the Baroque tiles, dating from the first half of the 18th century, in shades of blue and white, which tell episodes from the life of São Sebastião.	Praça da República, Caldas da Rainha 17 Sept 2pm – 6pm 18 Sept 2pm – 8pm 20 Sept 4pm-6pm
Ermida São Sebastião.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo
The church dates from 1500 and was built by Queen Leonor. Highlights include the 17th-century tiles that cover the walls and the panels of Hispano-Arabic tiles in the side altars, which date from the 16th century. It was declared a National Monument in 1910.	Rua Rodrigo Berquó 5, Caldas da Rainha 17 Sept 2pm – 6pm 18 Sept 2pm – 8pm 20 Sept 4pm-6pm

Jardim D’Água
Designed by Ferreira da Silva, the Jardim d’Água is both a stage and a pedestrian route. It’s structures are related to routing and thermal water with original decor that offers a spectacle of water and different effects of colour and light. Materials used in the garden include glass, pottery and iron.	Public space, open at all times.
Museu da Cerâmica
The Ceramic Museum is located in a small romantic manor house surrounded by gardens and lakes. The museum has collections representing various ceramic centres in Portugal and abroad. It also has an exhibition of local pottery, especially by the artist Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro.	R. Dr. Ilídio Amado, Caldas da Rainha 17 & 18 Sept 10am – 12:30pm / 2pm – 7:30pm 19 & 20 Sept 10am – 12:30pm / 2pm to 6pm Website
Museu da Cerâmica.
Museu do Hospital e das Caldas
A privileged space for the preservation and study of the city’s ancient memory. Here you can see the Board of the Lamb, a panel of glazed tiles painted in blue and white, which serves as an administrative document on the operation of the thermal hospital.	R. Rodrigo Berquo, 2500-246 Caldas da Rainha 17 to 20 Sept 9am – 4pm
Museu José Malhoa
Dedicated mainly to paintings, this museum has an important ceramics section focusing on the work of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and a selection of earthenware from Caldas da Rainha.	Parque D. Carlos I, Caldas da Rainha 17 & 18 Sept 10am – 12:30pm / 2pm – 6pm