The best road cycling routes around Vila Chã De Ourique

The Sanctuary of Senhor Jesus da Pedra is located in the parish of Santa Maria, in the municipality of Óbidos, in the western region of Portugal. The Sanctuary was classified as a Monument of Public Interest in 2013.

Ride on the path dedicated for bikes. The road isn’t suitable for bikes, rough and slippery.

The website www.visitportugal.com recommends this church, stating: "Don't miss a visit to this sanctuary, located outside the city walls of Óbidos. Its octagonal exterior silhouette stands out from afar and is crowned by a large pyramid covered with green glazed tiles. It was built between 1740 and 1747, during the Baroque period. However, its details were never completed. Perhaps this is why several of the windows are strangely reversed. It is dedicated to Senhor da Pedra, and the pilgrimage to this site takes place on May 28th."

Very beautiful

The Sanctuary of Senhor da Pedra is a Baroque temple located on the outskirts of Óbidos. It has the particularity of articulating a cylindrical volume (exterior) with a hexagonal polygon (interior), in a centered plan to which three bodies are attached (two corresponding to the towers and another corresponding to the sacristy). In its program of symmetries, the play of inverted windows stands out. Its interior has three chapels: the main chapel dedicated to Calvary, with a painting by André Gonçalves, and the side chapels dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception and the Death of Saint Joseph, with paintings by José da Costa Negreiros. The “strange” stone image of the Crucified Christ, on its own pedestal on the High Altar, was kept in a small chapel next to the road to Caldas da Rainha until the inauguration of the Sanctuary, where it was the object of great devotion, particularly by King D. João V. The construction of the Sanctuary is due to the miracle that occurred with King D. João V “Valha-me o Senhor da Pedra” (The Lord of the Stone).

Watch out it can be slippery

publication of the royal charter of 26 July 1811, which, in order to mitigate the devastating effects of the French invasions, prescribed, among many other measures, the distribution of seeds to farmers in order to re-establish cereal production. The Real Celeiro was active for over sixty years, between 1812 and 1873, but, quoting Guilherme Henriques, “it died, like all good institutions, annihilated by abuses”. The City Council now holds the archive of the old Celeiro, which, although not very voluminous, nevertheless allows us to reconstruct almost the entire history of this important local institution of the 19th century. Commissioned to be rebuilt by the Municipality of Alenquer in 2002, it opened its doors as the Wine Museum and headquarters of the Lisbon Wine Route in 2006. Its interior was remodeled and its museology project renewed at the end of 2018, and it reopened its doors to visitors in February 2019. (Source: www.alenquer.pt)

Santarem has been Portuguese since 1147 and, with an old town center of almost 2 square kilometers, is one of the largest in the country. The city may be a little old, but it is definitely worth a visit.