At a distance of 12 km from Leiria, we find Batalha in the banks of the Lena River. The name and the history of the town are the history of its Monastery of “Santa Maria da Vitória” (St. Mary of the Victory). Three years had passed from August 14th 1385, the date of the Aljubarrota battle, when the Monastery’s construction began in fulfilment of the vow made by King John I to the Virgin Mary. The king had promised to build a monastery if he was successful in that historical battle. This was a decisive battle for the consolidation of the Portuguese independence.