Belém Tower
| Belém Tower (Torre de Belém) | |
| Tower of Saint Vincent | |
| Fortification (Forte) | |
 The iconic quarter façade of the Tower of Belém on the bank of the Tagus River
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| Official name: Torre de São Vicente | |
| Name origin: torre de belém Portuguese for tower of Bethlehem; | |
| Country |  Portugal |
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| Region | Lisbon |
| Sub-region | Grande Lisboa |
| District | Lisbon |
| Municipality | Lisbon |
| Location | Santa Maria de Belém |
| - elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
| - coordinates | 38°41′29.72″N 9°12′57.55″W / 38.6915889°N 9.2159861°WCoordinates: 38°41′29.72″N 9°12′57.55″W / 38.6915889°N 9.2159861°W |
| Architects | Francisco de Arruda |
| Style | Manueline |
| Materials | Pedra Lioz (Limestone), Tile, Wood |
| Origin | c. 1514 |
| - Initiated | c. 1515 |
| - Completion | 1519 |
| Owner | Portuguese Republic |
| For public | Public |
| Visitation | Closed (Mondays and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December) |
| Easiest access | Avenida da Brasília |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Name | Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém |
| Year | 1983 (#7) |
| Number | 263 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Criteria | iii, vi |
| Management | Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |
| Operator | Centro de eLearning do Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT) e Área |
| October–April | 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. |
| May–September | 10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. |
 Location of the Belém Tower within the municipality of Lisbon
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Website: www |
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Belém Tower (Portuguese: Torre de Belém, pronounced: [ˈtoʁ(ɨ) dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]) or the Tower of St Vincent is a fortified tower located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with the nearby Jerónimos Monastery) because of the significant role it played in the Portuguese maritime discoveries of the era of the Age of Discoveries. The tower was commissioned by King John II to be part of a defence system at the mouth of the Tagus river and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.
The tower was built in the early 16th century and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (98.4 ft), four-storey tower. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore.
In the late 15th century, King John II had designed a defence system for the mouth of the Tagus that depended on the fortresses of Cascais and São Sebastião (or Torre Velha) in Caparica on the south side of the river. These fortresses did not completely protect the river's mouth, and further protection was required. In his "Chronicle of John II" (Chronica de D. Joao II), which appeared in 1545, the author Garcia de Resende affirmed the king's opinion that the defences of Lisbon were inadequate, and that he had insisted on building fortifications along the entrance to the River Tagus to supplement the existing defences. To this end, he ordered the "making of a strong fort", but died before any plans were drawn. King Manuel I of Portugal revisited the proposal twenty years later and ordered the construction of a military fortification on the northern margin of the Tagus at Belém. In 1513, Lourenço Fernandes wrote a letter to his friends referring to the king's intention of constructing a tower near Restelo Velho, having determined it to be essential.
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Wikipedia