It is known that the Phoenicians traded here, and today more properly the Romans settled  and it is likely that the southern Torch tower has had its origin in a lookout Roman tower construction, such as advanced post in the city of Eburobrittium , large urban metropolis  found in an archaeological work phase.

On January 11, 1148, Portuguese first king, Afonso Henriques, supported by Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, took Obidos from the Arabs, after the previous November siege. The Cruise of Memory is a simple monument of the time, later restored. Obidos belonged to the defensive pentagon (the five castles), the center of the kingdom, created by the Templars.

D. Dinis gave Óbidos as a wedding gift to his wife Isabel and  the village was owned by the House of Queens, only abolished in 1834. Most of Portugal Queens passed by the village leaving great benefits. D. Catarina orders to build the aqueduct and fountains. Administrative reform of King Manuel I gave Óbidos in 1513 a new Foral and this time a very intense urban re qualification.

The 1755 earthquake was felt intensely by knocking down parts of the wall as well as some temples and buildings and even changed some aspects of the stroke,the Arab and medieval hull. Óbidos was also a stage for the struggles of the Peninsular War and here toke place the  great battle of Roliça.

More recently the Village hosted the preparatory meeting of the 25th April Revolution  thus connected to the brave and heroic captains movement.

Its origin dates back to the founding of the Cistercian Abbey (in Latin, Cistercium; in French, Citeaux), in the commune of Saint-Nicolas-les-Citeaux, Burgundy, in 1098, by Roberto de Champagne, abbot of Molesme. This, along with some fellow monks had left the monastic congregation of Cluny to resume the observance of the ancient Benedictine rule, in response to the relaxation of Cluny Order.

Through the “Charta Charitatis” in addition to the rule of Order of St. Benedict, Stephen – third abbot of the Cistercian – established the Order of the supreme authority is exercised by an annual meeting of all the abbots. The monasteries were supervised by the monastery headquarters in Citeaux, and the four oldest monasteries of the Order.

The order will play an important role in the religious history of the twelfth century, come to be imposed throughout the West for its organization and authority. One of his most important works was the colonization of the region east of the Elbe, which simultaneously promoted Christianity, Western civilization and the appreciation of land 1.

Restoration of the Benedictine rule inspired by the Gregorian reform, the Cistercian order promoted asceticism, liturgical rigor and erect, to some extent, the work as a fundamental value, as evidenced by its technical, artistic and architectural heritage.

In addition to the social role until the French Revolution, the order has great influence on the intellectual and economic level, as well as in the arts and spirituality, should its considerable development Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), exceptional charisma man . His influence and his personal prestige made him the most celebrated of the Cistercians. Although not the founder of the order, remains their spiritual mentor 2.

Currently, the Cistercian order is actually made up of two religious orders and various congregations. The order of “Common Observance had in 1988 with more than 1,300 monks nuns in 1500, over 62 monasteries and 64, respectively. The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (also called OCSO) currently comprises nearly 3,000 monks and nuns in 1875, over one hundred and two male monasteries and seventy-two female monasteries in the world. Are commonly called “Trappist” since the creation of the order resulted from the reform of the Trappist Abbey (in Soligny-la-Trappe, Lower Normandy, France) .

Even separated, the two orders have friendship links and collaborative relationships. The habit is also similar. The Cistercian monks are known as white because of the color of their habit.

Whilst following the Benedictine Rule, the Cistercian monks are not properly considered Benedictines. It was the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) that the word “Benedictine” came to designate the monks who did not belong to any centralized order, as opposed to Cistercians.