Special museums
From Buddha to Dino
Not only the Costa de Prata offers many historical buildings, there are also lots of interesting museums and sculpture parks. Often surprisingly modern and multimedial.
Indoor museums, open air exhibitions, excavations, you name it and its there. How about dinossaur footprints or the impressive Buddha Eden park?
Hypermodern museum on bloody battle
In São Jorge (between Aljubarrota and Batalha) you can find the Battle of Aljubarrota Interpretation Centre, one of the most modern museums of Europe. By using advanced media it takes visitors back to the year 1385. There is an exhibition, an educational area, but also a shop, restaurant and picknick garden. And what about the “medieval machines activity park” with games and wooden machines which can be activated by visitors. A fun day out!
Interactive museum offers you a historical journey
The municipal museum of Batalha was opened in 2011. It was founded to support the cultural heritage of the village. The museum has some interactive features, and takes you on a journey through the past to the present.
In the historical archives you can also see the excavations of the Roman city of Collipo, that once was built in the Batalha area.
The Portuguese Versailles is definitely worth a visit
Originally the palace was a hunting lodge, but in 1747 Dom Pedro III renovated it into a rococo palace, and he started using it as a summer palace. When he became king in 1760, Dom Pedro III ordered the enlargement of the palace. From 1794 the palace was permanently lived in, until the royal family moved to Brazil because of Napoleon's invasion.
Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles.
Following a serious fire in 1934, which gutted the interior, the palace was extensively restored.
Both palace and gardens are open to the public.
www.parquesdesintra.pt
Marinha Grande: The glass centre of the region
Apart from the glass museum Museo do Vidro in the former residence of Stephens, where glass-ware of the 17th to the 20th century is on display, there are 2 more museums about the glass industry.
- Museu Santos Barosa: Santos Barosa is the oldest glass factory of Portugal, and it's still in operation. There is also a museum at the factory, the collection shows how glass was made and used through the ages.
- The Joaquim Correia museum is the former residence of one of the The Joaquim Correia museum is the former residence of one of the most prominent families of Marinha Grande. The house dates back from 19th century. and houses the artistic legacy of Joaquim Correia. He was born in 1920 into a family of glassblowers. He studied sculpting, first in Porto and later in Lisbon. He was a student of renowned artists such as Simões de Almeida (cousin), Francisco Franca, Barata Feyo and António Duarte.
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Back from the Past
In February 2018 the Dino Parque is opened, a large park near Lourinhã where you can see many dinosaurs in full size.
At Bairro (between Fátima and Torres Novas) you can see a trail (almost 150 meters long) of dinosaur footprints, called the Pedreira do Galinha. The footprints date back 175 million years. You can see all of the excavation from the footpath along the trail.
Dinosaur museum
In Lourinhã you can visit the Museu da Lourinhã, where you can see fossilised bones, footprints, eggs and even embryos from Jurassic dinosaurs.
Remarkable garden is place for reconciliation
The Buddha Eden Garden is an area of about 35 hectares designed and conceived by Comendador José Berardo in response to the destruction of the Giant Bamyan Buddhas, sculpted in the rocks of the valley of Bamyan in central Afghanistan and which had for centuries been a cultural and spiritual reference.
Comendador Berardo was profoundly shocked by the attitude of the Taliban Government, which intentionally destroyed these unique monuments of World Heritage, considered acts of cultural barbarism which attempted to erase from memory the art of the late Gandhara period.
In 2001, in response to this loss he initiated another of his dreams, the creation of an extensive oriental garden in honour of those colossal Buddhas.
It is intended that the Buddha Eden Garden is a place of reconciliation. Without any religious tendency, it opens its doors, to all people of all religion, ethnicity, nationality, sex, age, and socio-cultural background, inviting all to come together, to communicate and meditate, to rest and rediscover happiness. Hopefully people will follow a path contrary to the destruction of humankind and the dissemination of culture.
Caldas da Rainha has a history of the artisanal and industrial production of ceramics. The colourful azulejos (tiles) are a good example. The history of ceramics in this town is also the 'raw material' for contemporary artists.
Ceramics workshops and museums:
- Museu da Cerâmica: exhibition of an important collection of ceramics from the 16th to the 20th century. The museum is located in a beautiful villa, surrounded by gardens.
- Casa Museu de São Rafael: exhibition of ceramics by the artist São Rafael, made by the Bordallo Pinheiro factory.
www.bordallopinheiro.com - Atelier-Museu António Duarte: exhibition of work by of sculptor António Duarte (1912-1998)
- Atelier-Museu João Fragoso: exhibition of work by sculptor João Fragoso (1913-2000)
Other museums:
- Museu do Hospital e das Caldas da Rainha: museum on 5 centuries of medicinal springs, and the thermal hospital in Caldas da Rainha. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, carvings, clothing, furniture, ceramics, and medical / scientific instruments.
- Museu Barata Feyo: exhibition of work by sculptor Barata Feyo (1899-1990)
- Museu José Malhoa: exhibitions of paintings by José Malhoa (1855-1933), and work by other Portuguese artists
- Espaço Concas: exhibition of paintings by Maria da Conceição Nunes, also known as Concas (1946-1991), in the Centro de Artes
- Museu do Ciclismo: exhibition on cycling in Portugal
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