JERÓNIMOS MONASTERY

Description

Essentials about the Jerónimos Monastery in brief

A visit to the beautiful and impressive monastery complex of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) is an absolute must during a trip to Lisbon. Located in the Belém district in the west of Lisbon, the monastery is considered the most important building of the so-called “Manueline style”, a Portuguese variant of the late Gothic style that already contains elements of the Renaissance. The 300-meter-long building with its incredibly ornate limestone facade is one of the most popular photo motifs in the Portuguese capital. In addition, some of the most important Portuguese are buried in the Jerónimos Monastery, including national poets Fernando Pessoa and Luís de Camões, navigator Vasco da Gama and a number of Portuguese kings. With so much beauty and significance, it’s no wonder that the Jerónimos Monastery has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

The history of the Jerónimos Monastery

The foundation stone for the monastery was laid by King Manuel I in 1502. Shortly before, Vasco da Gama had returned from his first voyage to India. He had discovered the long-sought sea route to India. This discovery was one of the key pillars of Portugal’s rise to become a great trading nation and world power. The profits from the flourishing overseas trade also made it possible to build the monastery with its magnificent size and design. The construction period lasted over seven decades and took place under the supervision of five architects. Nevertheless, the entire construction of the Jerónimos Monastery appears very uniform due to the common design intent of the architects.

The monastery complex was originally planned to be much larger. In the end, only the hall church, the two-story cloister with refectory, the chapter house, the sacristy and the 192-meter-long west wing were realized. During the reign of King John III, the choir was added to the monastery.

Fortunately, the Jerónimos Monastery survived the Great Earthquake of 1755 with almost no major damage. Until 1834, the monastery was home to the Hieronymites, the order of Saint Jerome, who also gave the complex its name. The monastery gained Europe-wide fame through a political act of recent history. In December 2007, the leaders of the EU countries signed here the important Treaty of Lisbon on the reorganization of the European Union.

The south portal of the monastery church of the Jerónimos Monastery

One of the architectural highlights of the monastery is the south portal of the monastery church. The representative portal, created by João de Castilho, extends beyond the cornice of the monastery church. It is 32 meters high and 12 meters wide. Between the two entrance doors is the figure of Henry the Navigator, and above the arch of the portal is the crowned Mary with Child. At the very top, in front of the cornice, the archangel Gabriel is watching. 24 almost life-size figures of apostles, saints and bishops stand under canopies. Late Gothic pinnacles flank Renaissance semi-circular arches, enclosed by a formal network of branches, foliage and ornamental flowers.

The monastery church of the Jerónimos Monastery

The monastery church, on the other hand, is entered through the west portal, which was narrowed by the west wing that was added later and therefore hardly shows to advantage. With the three-nave hall church, the architect João de Castilho created one of the most beautiful and unusual interiors in Portugal. From six slender columns, the ribs open like palm fronds, supporting the net vault at a height of 25 meters. João de Castilho thus achieved a structural masterpiece with his slender construction – after all, the hall is 90 meters long and 27 meters wide. The four stronger crossing pillars ensure that the transept, which measures 29 by 19 meters, manages without further supports. Due to their rich design, the columns appear almost weightless and without a load-bearing function. In retrospect, it is hard to imagine that this graceful construction was able to survive the severe earthquake of 1755, which reduced entire city districts to rubble only a few kilometers away.

Under the gallery on the north side, stands the sarcophagus of the famous explorer Vasco da Gama, in the neo-Manueline style. He died on December 24, 1524 as Viceroy of India and was initially buried there, but was subsequently moved several times. It was not until 1880 that his remains were interred in this honorary tomb in the monastery. In addition, 21 members of the Portuguese royal family are also buried in the monastery church.

The cloister of the Jerónimos Monastery

Another jewel of Manueline architecture is the cloister on the north side of the monastery. In the decoration of the 26 vault fields, which cover a square of 55 meters in length, elements from the Occident, the Orient and the Far East are combined. Emblems, figures, portraits and stylized plants and animals were carved out of the yellowish sand-lime stone. In between, the cross of the Knights of Christ, the sphere of the spheres and the royal coat of arms appear again and again and symbolize the religious and secular claim to power of the Portuguese royal house under Manuel I. Until the conversion of the monastery into an orphanage in 1834, there was a water basin in the center with the lion fountain, which today stands in the northwest corner.

The museums in the Jerónimos Monastery

Since the renovation of the monastery in the mid-19th century, two museums have been housed in its side wings, namely the Museu de Marinha (Navy Museum) and the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (National Archaeology Museum). If you want to spend even more time in Belém, you’ll find an incredible density of sights in this Lisbon suburb. Just a stone’s throw from the Jerónimos Monastery are the famous Torre de Belém (Bélem Tower), the equally famous seafaring monument Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the large art center Belém Cultural Center.