Mosteiro de Pombeiro

Founded in 1059 according to popular tradition, although the oldest documentary reference dates back to 1099, the Monastery of Pombeiro enjoyed privileges and justice of its own as early as 1112, as evidenced by the Charter of Couto granted on that date by D. Teresa. This monastic institution has been documented since 853, which makes it one of the oldest in the territory, although there is no material evidence of its first establishment. Located at the intersection of two of the main roads of medieval times, one that connected Porto to Trás-os-Montes and a second that connected Beira to Alto Minho, the monastery gained importance and served as a shelter for the court and pilgrims on the move. With the donations of the Sousões family and the faithful, Pombeiro came to own 37 churches and an enviable annual income, and its power extended to Vila Real. In the Modern Age, the monastery underwent profound changes, especially during the Baroque period, standing out: the wings of the cloister, the new chancel, the high choir, several works of gilded carving and the two towers that flank the frontage. At the beginning of the 19th century, the cloisters were remodeled in a neoclassical intervention, however interrupted with the extinction of the religious orders in 1834.