Igreja de Santa Maria de Cós, Monastery church in Coz, Portugal

Igreja de Santa Maria de Cós is a monastery church in Coz with a simple exterior that contrasts sharply with its richly decorated interior featuring baroque embellishments and gilded woodwork throughout. The building combines functional layout with ornate artistic details in its various sections.

The monastery was founded at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century for Cistercian nuns; its earliest documented mention dates to 1241. In 1532 the convent formally adopted the Cistercian rule, and from about 1558 it was promoted by Cardinal-King Henrique, abbot of Alcobaça. The church and monastic buildings date from this period and the following century. The monastery was dissolved in 1834.

The church displays ten blue and white tile panels showing scenes from Bernard of Clairvaux's life, which reflect how Portuguese religious buildings used ceramic art to tell sacred stories.

The church stands in the parish of Cós, about eight kilometres from the Alcobaça Abbey that held jurisdiction over the convent. The monastic ruins, including the dormitory wing known as "do Cardeal", remain in private hands, so visits focus on the church, sacristy and one hall. A wooden grille reaching the ceiling divides the interior, with the nuns' choir on one side.

The choir section contains 106 wooden chairs arranged in long rows, serving as a physical reminder of the large female community that once gathered here daily. This remarkable number of seats reveals much about the scale and structure of religious life that took place within these walls.