Jerónimos Monastery

The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos? / I ( German Hieronymite, mistakenly colloquially Jerónimos Monastery ) is a building in Lisbon ( Portugal), in the Belém district. He is regarded as the most important building of the Manueline style ( Manuel I, 1495-1521 ), a Portuguese version of late Gothic, which also contains some elements of the Renaissance. Among other things, it houses the tombs of Fernando Pessoa, Vasco da Gama and Luís de Camões and various Portuguese kings.

The wide park in front of the 300 meter long building the ornate limestone facade comes into its own. The side wings are the Naval Museum and the Archaeological Museum.

History

The monastery was given by Manuel I commissioned shortly after Vasco da Gama had returned from his first trip to India. The construction was largely financed by the now gushing revenue overseas trade. In 1501, work began, which were accompanied by numerous architects and builders, among them Diogo Boitaca (planning and execution) and João de Castilho ( logistics). The construction was completed in 1601. During the reign of King John III. the monastery was expanded by the choir.

The monastery was home to 1834 the Order of St. Jerome, who also gave the name of the monastery. The building survived the earthquake of 1755 without larger damage, but was ravaged by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century.

In 1983, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.

On 13 December 2007 here signed the Staats-/Regierungschefs the EU countries the Treaty of Lisbon on the restructuring of the European Union.

Tombs of the Kings

The following members of the Portuguese royal family are buried in the monastery: