Jerónimos Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) | |
Hieronymites Monastery | |
Monastery (Mosteiro) | |
The main visitors entrance and wings housing the Maritime Museum and the National Archaeology Museum
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Official name: Mosteiro da Santa Maria de Belém | |
Name origin: jerónimo Portuguese transliteration for Saint Jerome (Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) ; the use of Hieronymites, referring to the Order of Saint Jerome | |
Nickname: O Jerónimos | |
Country | Portugal |
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Region | Lisbon |
Sub-region | Grande Lisboa |
District | Lisbon |
Municipality | Lisbon |
Location | Santa Maria de Belém |
- elevation | 11 m (36 ft) |
- coordinates | 38°41′51.60″N 9°12′21.60″W / 38.6976667°N 9.2060000°WCoordinates: 38°41′51.60″N 9°12′21.60″W / 38.6976667°N 9.2060000°W |
Architects | Diogo de Boitaca, Juan de Castilho, Nicolau Chanterene, Diogo de Torralva, Jérôme de Rouen |
Styles | Manueline, Plateresque, Renaissance |
Material | Pedra Lioz (Limestone) |
Origin | 1495 |
- Initiated | 6 January 1501 |
- Completion | 1601 |
Papal permission | 1496 |
Owner | Portuguese Republic |
For public | Public |
Visitation | Closed (Mondays and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December) |
Easiest access | South Portal |
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 am – 5:30 pm |
May–September | 10:00 am – 6:30 pm |
Website: www |
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The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Portuguese pronunciation: [muʃˈtɐjɾu duʃ ʒɨˈɾɔnimuʃ]), is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal; it was secularised on 28 December 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa.
The monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby Tower of Belém, in 1983.
The Jerónimos Monastery replaced the church formerly existing in the same place, which was dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém and where the monks of the military-religious Order of Christ provided assistance to seafarers in transit. The harbour of Praia do Restelo was an advantageous spot for mariners, with a safe anchorage and protection from the winds, sought after by ships entering the mouth of the Tagus. The existing structure was inaugurated on the orders of Manuel I (1469–1521) at the courts of Montemor o Velho in 1495, as a final resting-place for members of the House of Aviz, in his belief that an Iberian dynastic kingdom would rule after his death. In 1496, King Manuel petitioned the Holy See for permission to construct a monastery at the site. The Hermitage of Restelo (Ermida do Restelo), as the church was known, was already in disrepair when Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer there before departing on their expedition to the Orient in 1497.