Monastery of the Hieronymites / Mosteiro dos Jerónimos - Lisboa
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 38° 41.845 W 009° 12.350
29S E 482100 N 4283219
Quick Description: 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.
Location: Portugal
Date Posted: 10/20/2006 2:56:53 PM
Waymark Code: WMVV7
Views: 76
Long Description:
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.