房奴30年記錄

The heart of the fortress, the Alcáçova (Citadel), with the donjon, was built on the east side; the mystical place, the octagonal Templar Church, was built on the west side. With the dissolution of the Order, because of the persecutions of King Philippe, the Beautiful, King of France, the Templars could carry on with their sacred Cavalry mission in Portugal.

Under the auspices of King Dinis the "Order of the Knights of Christ" was founded. It was negotiated for four years between the monarch and the Holy See; both the people and properties of the dissolved Order joined the new Order. It is thanks to the Order of Christ that the Portuguese nation opened itself to the maritime Discoveries carried out in the 15th century. Tomar became, therefore, the headquarters of the Order and, Prince Henry, the Navigator, their Master. The Order of Christ expanded as the Christian faith and the kingdom itself expanded too..

Time and the Portuguese history left in the architecture of the Convent evidences of the passing ages and of the men who led the Portuguese destinies. During Prince Henry's rule two Gothic cloisters were built in the Convent. With King Manuel I, the Templar Church was expanded to the west with a construction that would serve the Chapter of the Order. This construction, profusely decorated by the symbolism of the Knights of Christ, has in its west façade the famous Chapter House Window. Later on, King John III, who inherited the throne from his father, King Manuel, had deep changes made in the Order by amending their Rules and turning the Knights into Monks; important works of expansion of the Convent started in this reign in order to accomplish the Reform of the Order. Such works would go on through several reigns, till the 18th century, and left marks of different artistic tendencies. The Convent of Christ displays in its architectural ensemble art several testimonies: the Romanesque art, with the Templars; the Gothic and Manueline style, with the Discoveries; the Renaissance, during the Reform of the Order; the Mannerism, in its various aspects; and eventually the Baroque, in several architectural details.

In the architectural structure of the Convent, besides the buildings constructed around the Templar Church, it is worth pointing out the ensemble of four large cloisters framed in Latin cross by two axes, and also an aqueduct 6 km long, constructed by King Philip II. An area of forest and farm land, known as Mata dos Sete Montes (Wood of the Seven Hills) due to the seven hills that surround it, makes part of the Convent's estate. The Templars chose the highest of these hills to build their octagonal Temple.