Lisbon. Second meeting

Belém. A small fishing village in the fourteenth century began to develop rapidly due to its advantageous location near Alcaántara, where fish processing by the Arabs was developed and a convenient river marina, where there was an opportunity to berth many fishing vessels. And already at the beginning of the XV century, Prince Henry the Navigator / Infante D.Henrique Navegador / decided to build a small church here and give religious and spiritual support to the local residents, fishermen who went fishing in the open ocean and those brave sailors who left and returned here with news of new discoveries. At the end of the fifteenth century, King Manuel I/D Manuel I/, seeing the growing profit from the sea expansion to Africa, desired to build a monastery here, having received permission from the Pope. His wish coincided with the return of the Vasco da Gama expedition from India.

Having begun the construction of the monastery in the early sixteenth century, D. Manuel I ordered the construction of a watchtower to protect against the entrance to the Tagus River, which also served as a customs office. Embodiing the stories of sailors-discoverers about the fantastic plant and animal worlds that met on their way, the architects created a unique style in architecture. Due to their uniqueness, the monastery of the Hieronymites (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) and the Tower of Belém (Torre de Belém) became a vivid example of this style, later called Manuelino, and symbols of imperial grandeur and wealth of Portugal. At the end of the XVI-th century, the construction of the Belensky Palace / Leoneir Palace / was begun, bought for residence by King D. João V only in the middle of the XVIII-th century. From then until the fall of the monarchy it began to be called royal. After a number of reconstructions, the royal couple D. Carlos I and D. Amalia lived in it for some time, who opened a carriage museum in the mane hall in 1905. After the revolution of 1910, the palace became the official residence of the presidents of the republic. Another symbol of Lisbon was built on the banks of the Tagus River in 1960.

Stylized caravel with a 50-meter stele-sail on the bank of the river and figures of the Portuguese, who became famous in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries led by Prince Henry the Navigator. The construction of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos was dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry. During the tour you will learn: - what is the Manueline style; - when and why the village was renamed, which was called ... and what is Belém; - the history of the creation of the square and the fountain in front of the monastery; - the history of the monument Padrão dos Descobertos; and many other interesting stories. You will get acquainted with: - 2 architectural monuments, which are included in the 7 most beautiful sights of Portugal; - 4 monuments of national history of Portugal; - 2 masterpieces of architecture from the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you wish, you can look at // from a bird's eye view, visiting the observation deck of the monument of the Discoverers. And at the end of the tour you will visit the famous pastry Pastéis de Belém, operating since 1837 and taste a unique pastry called Pastel de Belém. At this point, our acquaintance with the Belém area ends.