As beautiful as the Tower of Belem was in Lisbon and as delicious as the pasteis de nata's were, for me both of them paled in comparison to the Jerónimos Monastery.
It was the highlight of our visit to the Belém district, and without a doubt, my favorite thing to see in that part of the city.
The Monastery was built at the begining of the 16th century in the year 1502 by King Manuel I.
The architecture style is gothic by the looks of it. You can just tell by the detail and flamboyance of it.
Something of note about the site is that its construction was funded through the taxation of imported goods coming from Africa and Asia, mainly spices such as pepper, cinnamon and cloves.
Who would have thought that spices could fund such a magnificent project? But then again, who doesn't love cinnamon?
The Monastery was essentially a massive palace built for the King. It has since been turned into a museum and is open to the public today.
It was getting a little late in the afternoon when we were there and we were getting tired so we only went into the church portion of the building.
The church was actually just a small part of the much larger structure but it was still as grand as any cathedral that we've been to.
Actually, we started by walking around the building and sort of hummed and hawed about going inside before finally saying, "What the heck, we may as well, while we're here."
I'm really glad that we did decide to go in though because it was pretty spectacular in there.
I've seen Gothic architecture many times before but this definitely had its own flare about it.
The detail on the stone columns was particularly impressive.
Interestingly, the columns were carved in a nautical theme and depict a variety of sea motifs, coils of rope, different corals and even sea monsters.
That last bit makes me wish that I would have taken a closer look.
Apparently the monks who lived and worked at the Monastery were given the task of praying for the King, as well as giving guidance to sailors of Portugal (hence the theme).
One must always consult with the oracles before going off an any adventure.
The ceilings were really quite impressive in there as well.
As was the gild work.
Like most churches, this one was dimmly lit.
But there were plenty of candles inside that really added to the overall ambiance.
There's always something really satisfying about seeing large banks of lit candles. Do you agree?
I like it when churches have a lot of artwork on the walls as well. It kind of makes it like a museum in a way.
I like killing two birds with one stone on trips. To me, it's all about efficiency of time.
Another interesting fact is that the Monastery is the final resting place of one of Portugals most famous explorers.
He goes by the name of Vasco da Gama. I don’t know much about the man but supposedly he was the first European to sail to the Indian Sea.
He died of malaria during one of his expeditions in 1524 and his body was moved to the Monastery later in the 19th century. Source
There were actually a few different tombs in there and I didn't know exactly who was who, but I believe that they were members of the royal family, as well as one or two Portugese poets. I mainly just thought that the tombs looked really cool though. The placement of them in the church and the stone carvings were really quite beautiful.
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wow! those internal pillars and vaulted ceilings are amazing, and Vasco da Gama is quite famous in European and Indian history and geography.He even has a crater on the moon named after him
Oh that's interesting. I didn't know that. Thanks for the lesson. Good to know 👍
you're welcome @leaky20 , I am handy to have ion the team in pub quizzes 😂
I'll keep that in mind 😁👍
😂🤣😂
Yes, there's something special about a lit bank of candles.
I'm looking at the architecture and design and trying to imagine the level of satisfaction the builder might have felt after completing each section. It's spectacular indeed!
You can't beat candles in a dark room.
Yeah the architect probably felt a major sense of accomplishment after that one was complete.
These are some wonderful photos of outstanding architecture. These were the glory days of European architecture as reflected across the continent in this time period. Spice, and some other terrible sorts of business funded them, as is usual with these things, but we can't deny the magnificence of these structures and intricacy of the art.
Yeah that's true for sure. A lot of terrible shit went down in the past. Some things in the recent past unfortunately. There certainly was a crazy mix of greatness and infamy throughout most of human history. It's nice to admire the beauty of our creation and hopefully learn from our mistakes.
Good one Leaky. Pretty extravagant structure. Spices, fascinating right? When we were in Amsterdam I learned how valuable pepper was there probably around the same time that monastery was built. Dude said one little cup was worth the value of the house it was in.
That's so crazy to think about. The things we take for granted were so highly valued in the past. Strange and cool at the same time.
A monastery was built in the 16th century and still standing in Portugal? Wow. It's beautiful with all the intricate architectural designs. So the building doubles as the King's palace and monastery? These pictures are cool. 😃
Yeah it's very well preserved.
I believe so. It was a bit unclear to me. I think it started out as the Kings Palace and then later turned into a Monastery. Thats my understanding of it but I could be wrong about that.
😲 wow too amazing place , i would like stay there.
You could curl up on one of the benches I suppose. You might get kicked out at night though lol
LoL 😂😂
Man, you got some really epic shots in there. A sweet location brother. About as sweet as some cinnamon for a coffee lol
!LUV
Haha yeah it was a nice spot. Pretty easy to take great photos in there. Just point and shoot haha.
An incredible place! Gothic beauty fascinates💘
Yeah I really like gothic architecture as well. Thanks for checking it out. 😀
Spectacular indeed, I always love the details of artworks on churches. I have never to a church that huge though. Well, yeah, I agree with you. I often stare at the candles for it's satisfying to see a sea of them in a corner.
Yeah it's always a plus when there is good artwork in there. 👍
Hopefully you get to see a big cathedral one day.
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The architectural design is amazing, looks ancient!
Yeah the architecture was very nice. I like that style.