The Convent of Christ, in Tomar, and the Batalha Monastery will reopen to the public on Friday, February 27, after closures caused by the impact of bad weather, Museums and Monuments of Portugal (MMP) announced.
“With the reopening of these two monuments inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List – with some areas still with restricted access – all cultural facilities under the management of MMP that had been temporarily closed due to bad weather are now in operation,” indicated the public company, in a statement.
MMP recalled that the closures of the two national monuments were due to “damage caused by the storm, specifically in terms of facades, glass and roofs”, as well as “falling trees in the surrounding areas”.
“Once the immediate response phase has been completed and safety conditions have been met, the stage of maintenance and conservation interventions necessary to fully restore the conditions of the properties begins, in conjunction with the guardianship and competent authorities”, added MMP.
More than 120 museums and monuments suffered damage from this month’s storms, with five pieces of equipment from the Portuguese Museum Network and four from listed heritage sites, such as the Convent of Christ, in Tomar, showing “serious damage”, according to a report released on the 12th by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
The “total destruction” of Charolinha da Mata dos Sete Montes, next to the Convent of Christ, and archaeological complexes at Forte Novo, in Loulé, were among the most severe cases reported in museums, monuments, sites or churches in the municipalities of Aveiro, Coimbra, Condeixa-a-Nova, Estremoz, Figueira da Foz, Leiria, Lisbon, Loulé, Montalvão, Nisa, Penela, Pombal, Santa Comba Dão, Tomar, Torres Novas, Ansião, Alvaiázere and Ferreira do Zêzere.
The restoration works should require an investment of around 20 million euros, according to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Margarida Balseiro Lopesin statements made at the beginning of February, during a visit to affected areas in the Central Region.
Eighteen people died in Portugal following the passage of depressions Kristin, Leonardo and Marta, which also caused many hundreds of injuries and displacement.
The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, the fall of trees and structures, the closure of roads, schools and transport services, and the cut of energy, water and communications, floods and floods are the main material consequences of the storm.
The Centre, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and Alentejo regions were the most affected.
The calamity situation that covered the 68 most affected municipalities ended on February 15th.
Leave a Reply