PADRÃO DOS DESCOBRIMENTOS

Description

Essentials about the Padrão dos Descobrimentos in brief

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) is one of the most famous monuments in Europe. Located in the Belém district, directly on the banks of the Tagus River, the monumental memorial commemorates Portugal’s heyday as the world’s leading seafaring and discovering nation and the famous personalities who played a major role in it.

The architecture of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos

The Monument to the Discoveries was inaugurated in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. Heinreich was the main initiator, commissioner and financier of many Portuguese voyages of discovery, which is why he stands at the top of the figures on the monument with a ship in his hands. The 52-meter high Padrão dos Descobrimentos is made of concrete with statues made of limestone. Its shape is reminiscent of the prow of a caravel, the type of ship used by early Portuguese explorers.

The figures of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Henry the Navigator is followed by a procession of 32 important Portuguese personalities who literally climb the bow of the caravel. Among them are the world-famous seafarers Vasco da Gama, the discoverer of the sea route to India, Ferdinand Magellan, the first circumnavigator (who died on his voyages), Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, and Pedro Álvares Cabral, one of the discoverers of Brazil. In addition to many seafarers, personalities from other disciplines, such as the astronomer Pedro Nunes, the cartographer Jehuda Cresques, the poet Luís de Camões and the painter Nuno Gonçalves are also depicted on the monument.

The view from the Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Inside the Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a museum. An elevator takes you to the top of the viewing platform at a height of 52 meters. It is well worth a visit, as from here you can enjoy a magnificent view of the nearby Belém Tower, the beautiful Jerónimos Monastery and the impressive 25 de Abril Bridge.

The mosaic in front of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos

On the ground in front of the Monument to the Discoveries is a wind rose made of mosaic stones. The wind rose has a diameter of 50 meters and was a gift from the Republic of South Africa. A world map in the center of the mosaic shows the routes of the Portuguese explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries.