Monastery of Santa Maria de Seiça

Centrala Portugal · Portugal · Monastery

The Black Death took 150 monks in a matter of weeks — and in the ruined monastery the temperature drops where they once sang.

When the Black Death swept in during 1348, legend says some 150 monks at Seiça died in a very short time — nearly the whole community, gone in a matter of weeks. Visitors to the ruin describe sudden drops in temperature in the old passages, unexplained sounds and an oppressive sense of not being alone among the broken walls.

The monastery outside Figueira da Foz was founded in 1175 at the initiative of Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, and was extended over centuries before it was finally abandoned. In the twentieth century the complex was used as a rice factory, with the church left standing in the middle of production. Today it is half overgrown, its baroque facade open to the sky — a popular but eerie destination.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Monastery of Santa Maria de Seiça?

Monastery of Santa Maria de Seiça ligger i Centrala Portugal, Portugal.

Image: Threeohsix / CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons