Belém Tower

The Torre de Belém ( Belém Tower German ) in the Belem district of the Tagus estuary is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Lisbon. In addition to the nearby Jerónimos Monastery, the tower is one of the few outstanding buildings of the Manueline style, which survived the earthquake of Lisbon. The top, 35 meters high, exposed floor of the tower is an observation deck today.

In 1515 the tower by the Portuguese king, Manuel I, was commissioned. Six years later, in the year of death of Manuel (1521 ), he was finished. Originally it was on the opposite side is a second tower. Enemy ships could be taken in the crossfire. This twin tower was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1755. He symbolizes since the heyday of the Portuguese maritime and commercial empire. As a lighthouse located on a rock at the estuary of the Tagus, he greeted the arriving explorers and merchant ships.

As a symbol of protection of the seafarers overlooks a statue of Our Lady of the safe return of the sea. Is also located a sculpture of a rhino head, which is the first plastic representation of this animal in Europe on the north west side of the tower. This is an illustration of the rhinoceros, which Afonso de Albuquerque in 1515 brought back from his trip in India and later Albrecht Dürer the template for the woodcut of his " rhinoceros " returned. The Bastion has its own character through the rich embellishments with cord reliefs, shield-shaped battlements, openwork balconies and Moorish lookouts.

The dark interior was used until the 19th century as a prison and armory. In the 19th century it came to landfills at the northern Tejoufer. Today, the Torre is therefore only a few meters away from the country and can be reached at low tide and dry foot. Since 1983, one of the Torre de Belém World Heritage Site by UNESCO.