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The official name for this site is ‘Castelo Templário and Convento da ordem de Cristo de Tomar’. It’s a combination of a castle and a convent, used by the Knights Templar.
In 1160 the building of the castle was started by Gualdim Pais, Master of the Temple in Portugal. The land (like many more around Southern Europe) was given by the Portuguese king to the Order of the Knights Templar, in return for their support against the Moors.
The convent was added later, as an extension to the castle. The Templar Order was dissolved in 1312 but their property in Portugal was transferred to the Order of Christ which was created in 1319. This new military order would undertake an important role in Portuguese overseas expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Originally designed as a monument symbolizing the Reconquest, the Convent of the Knights Templar of Tomar (transferred in 1344 to the Knights of the Order of Christ) came to symbolize just the opposite during the Manueline period – the opening up of Portugal to other civilizations.
There are many architectonic styles in Christ Convent (inside the Castle): Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, etc

"Convent of Christ in Tomar" was added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 1983