Leiria - São Pedro

The Romans named the town "Collippo". It was occupied by the Suebi in 414 and later incorporated by Leovigild into the Visigoths kingdom in 585 A.D. Later the Moors occupied the area until it was re-captured by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques in 1135, during the Reconquista.

Both Afonso I of Portugal and Sancho I rebuilt the walls and the Leiria Castle to avoid new enemy incursions. Most of the population lived inside the protective city walls, but already in the 12th century part of the population lived outside the walls.
In the late 14th century, King John I built a royal palace within the walls of the castle of Leiria. This palace, with elegant gothic galleries that offered wonderful views of the town and surrounding landscape, was totally in ruins but was partially rebuilt in the 20th century.

The present-day Church of São Pedro began to be built in the last years of the 12th century, and is first mentioned in documents from 1200. The work must have been completed in the first decades of the 13th century.

Leiria was designated the seat of the bishopric in 1545, and for a short time the church of São Pedro served as the city's cathedral until the completion of the current Sé de Leiria in 1574. The church served as a parish church and underwent some renovations in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century it was used as a theater, a granary and even a prison.

It is the only Romanesque church in Leiria that still exists. Despite some alterations the church still has its original Romanesque façade and apse.

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