Family Time in Tomar, Portugal

Though the Order of the Knights Templar only lasted a few centuries, the legacy continues to capture the imagination of millions worldwide. Beyond spreading the word of Christianity through its involvement in the Crusades, its members collectively set up financial infrastructure throughout Europe and the Middle East. These business endeavors included the purchase and management of farms, vineyards and large swaths of land where they erected impressive castles, cathedrals and convents.

Tomar Castle Interior, Portugal © Elyse Glickman

The impact on European history is on grand display in Tomar, Portugal, founded by the Knights Templar in the 12th century on land granted by Portugal’s first king. The Knights Templar Castle and The Convent of Christ (distinguished as a UNESCO World Heritage site) are not just beautifully maintained, but serve as living museums to the knights’ deeds, positive interactions with other members of the community and devotion to their religious faith.

From a kid’s perspective, the castle is a place of excitement and intrigue with its network of secret passages, vivid paintings, sprawling green space and opulent architectural flourishes. When the Order of Christ took over from the Knights Templar in 1310, Tomar became the headquarters for the planning of international Portuguese ocean voyages that laid the foundation for the Age of Discovery. It was also home to one of Western Europe’s largest Jewish communities. Although law dictated Jews had to return to the Ghetto (now the Rua Dr. Joaquim Jacinto) after dark, they were allowed to mix freely during the day among the knights, do business with them and benefit from their protection.

Jews flourished as merchants and bankers who helped finance and build Tomar and other areas of Portugal. In the 15th century, members of the Christ Order supported the construction of the town synagogue, close to the city center, church and castle. A half-century later, with the arrival of the Inquisition as decreed by King Manuel I (caving to pressure from Queen Isabel), Jewish life disappeared. The building over the centuries was repurposed as a storage barn, a church and a prison.

Tomar Square, Portugal © Elyse Glickman

In 1921, the Portuguese government designated the Old Synagogue as a historic monument, and when Polish-Jewish scholar Samuel Schwarz took ownership in 1923, he conducted several excavations to find traces of the lost community. In a twist of fate the knights would be proud of, the Portuguese government granted Schwarz and his wife citizenship during the height of World War II after he donated the building to the government on the condition it be converted into a museum.

Tomar, Portugal. Jewish Street © Elyse Glickman

Today, the Old Synagogue turned Museu Luso-Hebraico de Abraão Zacuto (Abraham Zacuto Luso Museum) is in the midst of a major restoration, temporarily housed a few blocks away in former mills that also have an interesting collection of industrial relics, including olive oil presses and old electric company fixtures.

The Praça da República, a five- to 10-minute walk from the Old Jewish Street, is surrounded by a variety of regal buildings from the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance eras. The 16th-century Mannerist Town Hall stands opposite the 15^th-century Igreja de São João Baptista (Church of St. John the Baptist) built by King Manuel I and a stone’s throw from a statue of Templar knight Gualdim Pais, the founder of Tomar. While the town square and park skirting the old quarter and Nabão River are ideal places to relax and take in the centuries’ old surroundings, with good luck or good planning, your visit may coincide with a major holiday that brings out local families, parades, live musicians, food booths proffering local delicacies and sweets and, of course, tributes to the Templars.

Your family can get into the spirit of the Knights’ heyday any time of year at Taverna Antiqua, whose décor, intimate size and menu selections (even the vegetarian options) evoke history and camaraderie. It deftly avoids the Medieval Times theme park vibe thanks to the low-key approach to performance elements and the remarkably high quality of the food. Other foods worth sampling include desserts include fatias de Tomar (Tomar slices), made with only egg yolks and sugar, cooked in a special pan that molds the mixture into a pudding cut into slices and dusted with cinnamon, anise or lemon. Beija-me depressa (kiss-me-quicks), another rich egg confectionery, is drizzled with icing sugar and sold in 1960s retro-style boxes of 12.