Unique Statue of Mother Mary in Cathedral of Evora, Portugal
Evora is an excellent destination, if you want to explore off beat places of Portugal. I spent a day in Evora and feel it is too less and injustice to this beautiful medieval town. The Evora Inn, the hotel where we halted for night was too cosy and we had to drag ourselves out to explore the town. We started our tour with Cathedral of Evora and were pleasantly surprised to find no tourist crowd in there.
History of Cathedral of Evora
This grand Cathedral of Evora was built in 1186 on the site of the main mosque existing there. That mosque was built on an existing Roman church… new ruler new place of worship! Cathedral of Evora is located at the highest point of old town of Evora, the oldest and the most important monument there. The completion of this monument took 18 years. The most popular legend about this cathedral is that fleet of Vasco da Gama had their flags blessed here in 1497 before his famous expedition to India!
Apostles sculpted on frame of door in Cathedral of Evora, Portugal
Cathedral of Evora, Portugal.
Must See inside Cathedral of Evora
The main portal of Évora Cathedral is a beautiful example of Portugal’s Gothic sculpture tradition.
Statues of Apostles
The attractive marble columns are sculpted with enormous statues of the Apostles. The expressions chiseled out on the faces of Apostles stunned me. These creations date back to mid-fourteenth century and History mentions these were possibly sculpted by renowned sculptors of the time, Mestre Pero and Telo Garcia.
The exterior facade is plain but the huge interiors, goes high, and is very well decorated. The main altar is made of pink, white and black marble; it is a new addition, built in 18thcentury.
Muscular Jesus made of Wood
Except the muscular Jesus which is made of wood, rest of the decoration is with marble. The 16th century pipe organ that you can see in the right of the pic is fully functional.
Interiors of Cathedral of Evora made of marble.
Observe carefully to see the muscular Jesus made of wood.
Mother Mary in Cathedral of Evora
We soon searched out the unique statue of Mother Mary in Cathedral of Evora. It is that of pregnant Virgin Mary. This is one of its kinds in whole of Portugal. The sculpture was made in 15th century. For the first time I saw Mother Mary depicted with swollen stomach. This cathedral is now a pilgrimage site for young women from the local area who come here to pray for their fertility. Family members of pregnant women come here to pray for an easy labor and childbirth.
Ceiling of Cathedral of Evora, Portugal.
Pregnant Mother Mary in Cathedral of Evora, Portugal.
Open Terrace of Cathedral of Evora
The Gothic cloister leads to an open terrace; one can get lovely views out over the surrounding Alentejo countryside. I skipped this as I was running short on time. Do let me know in comments if you have seen the view from the terrace.
Visit Timings for Evora Cathedral
9:00-12:00h and 14:00-17:00h Tuesday to Sunday, but closed on Monday, when only the main chapel is open.
Tickets for Evora Cathedral
The entrance fee to the cathedral is €1.50, and the highly recommended ticket to the cloisters and roof is €2.50.
Good. You are covering all parts of Europe I couldn’t go to…
Nice and informative historical post . New ruler new place of worship but the venue is same . it repeats in the entire world !! very good looking pictures Indrani ji
Lovely pictures. So tempted to head to Spain and Portugal after seeing your posts
Spectacular pictures! Thanks for sharing.
Nice post da…..Really awesome place to visit. Thanks for the share. 🙂 🙂
A great account of the place. Amazing pictures 🙂
Beautiful Pictures of Cathedral and a nice Narrative.. Thanks for sharing, Indrani!
18 years? Wow. Just imagining all the work that must have gone through. And I’ve never seen this pic of Mother Mary. Lovely pics. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great pictures! I’ve always been fascinated by these sculptural cathedrals!
Wow Vasco Da Gama’s prayed there ! His prayers were answered. I hope you asked for something grand Indrani. 🙂
A very well written post. The pictures are just amazing. Thankyou 🙂
Spectacular! Loved the post – pictures and the information
Amazing photos
wonderful pictures of the cathedral and its glory!
Lovely pictures …!
Wow.Beautiful Cathedral.Lovely shots.As you mentioned pregnant Mother Mary is something unique.Thanks for sharing:)
Cheers,
Sriram & Krithiga
Thanks Sri Kri!
Congrats on the domain once again! 🙂 Beautiful place & equally beautiful pictures!
Thank you dear!
Beautiful Cathedral! Its so fascinating to see different forms of architecture and design…
Glad this too fascinated you Chaitali!
Thank you for the visit and comment.
Grand cathedral. Pregnant Mother Mary is something different.
There are few other cathedrals too depicting Her thus!
Thank you!
wow… nice… love the Apostles pic, In 🙂
Glad you liked them. 🙂
Thanks!
That’s a wonderful cathedral, and excellent shots. I love seeing churches and cathedrals.
Magnificent photography of an amazing cathedral!
Happy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
Thank you so much.
Happy week to you too!
Beautiful cathedral !
Yes indeed!
Thank you!
What a gorgeous place!
I hope you’ll come link up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/09/shake-those-tail-feathers.html
That looks so interesting…Cathedrals are beautiful by themselves and your clicks are making this one look prettier! Hi there Indrani 🙂
Gorgeous details in this amazing cathedral!
Yes and existing for centuries!
Thank you!
The Cathedral of Evora is magnificent, wonderful photos!
Yes indeed!
Thank you Pietro and Cynthia!
A gorgeous cathedral!
Yes, worth a visit!
Thank you! 🙂
Lovely captures of a beautiful cathedral
Thank you magiceye! 🙂
No matter the religion, it’s just very fascinating to view the religious art.
You are so right Photo Cache, each has its own significance and that is what interests me the most.
Thank you!
I like the clean look of your new blog. And the photos you chose to begin it with are wonderful!
Thank you very much EG CmeraGirl. 🙂
Shalom Indrani. Thanks for sharing all the marvels of the world that you discover.
Your new blog format is very nice.
Happy travels!
Shalom to you Dina!
I am glad you liked this new format!
Thank you!