Monastery of the Hieronymites / Mosteiro dos Jerónimos - Lisboa, Portugal
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 38° 41.845 W 009° 12.350
29S E 482101 N 4283219
In 1496 the King D. Manuel I makes a request to build a Monastery in the Tagus banks to the holy church. In 1501 the works began and one century later they were completed.N 38° 41.845 W 009° 12.350
Waymark Code: WM696K
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 04/26/2009
Views: 49
The Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) is
located in the Belém
district of Lisbon,
Portugal. It
is classified with nearby Belém
Tower(Torre de Belém) as a World Heritage Site.
The house for the Hieronymite monks (Ordem de S. Jerónimo) was built on the
site of the Ermida do Restelo, a hermitage founded by Henry
the Navigator whose functios at the time were (among others) to pray for the
soul of the King and to give al spiritual assistance to the sailers that were
sailing from the restelo Beach. It was at this hermitage that Vasco
da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer before departing for India.
The existing structure was started on the orders of Manuel
I (1515-1520). Some say that it was to commemorate Vasco
da Gama's successful return from India
and others that the King wanted to build a Holy place were he and his
descendence could be buryed.
Construction of the monastery began in 1501 and took nearly one century to
complete. The building of the monastery was funded by a 5% tax on eastern spices,
with the exceptions of pepper, cinnamon and cloves, revenue from which went
straight to the Crown.
The monastery was designed and started in the Manueline style by Diogo de
Boitaca (who was probably one of the originators of style) but, due to his size
and the detail of the construction there were several architects responsible by
the construction: Diogo de Boitaca (c.1460-1528), João de Castilho
(c.1475-1552), Diogo de Torralva (c. 1500-1566), Jerónimo de Ruão (1530-1601).
The building has a long façade of more than 300 meters long and the ornate main
entrance to the monastery, designed by Castilho, features several carved
figures, including one of Henry
the Navigator.
Within the monastery is the stone tomb of Vasco
da Gama (1468-1523),
as well as that of the poet and recorder of the discoveries, Luís
de Camões (1527-1570).
In an extension added to the monastery in 1850
is located the Museu de Arqueologia (Archaeological Museum). The Museu
da Marinha (Maritime Museum) is in west wing.
The monastery, like the nearby waymark Torre
de Belém and Padrão
dos Descobrimentos, symbolises the Portuguese
Age of
Discovery and is among the main tourist attractions of Lisbon.
The given coordinates will take you to the main door of the Monastery church.