The Santa Cruz Monastery is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Founded in 1131 outside the protecting walls of Coimbra, it was the most important monastic house of the first times of the Portuguese monarchy. Dedicated to the Order of St. Augustine, the Monastery was granted numerous papal privileges and royal grants, which allowed the accumulation of a considerable patrimony, at the same time as it consolidated its position on the politico-institutional and cultural scene.