Monument classified as World Heritage by UNESCO

The Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) is located in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal. This magnificent monastery can be considered one of the most prominent monuments in Lisbon and is certainly one of the most successful achievements of the Manueline style. In 1983 it was classified by the UNESCO, with nearby Torre de Belém, as a World Heritage Site.

The house for the Hieronymite monks was built on the same site of the Ermida do Restelo, a hermitage that was founded by Henry the Navigator at about 1450. It was at this hermitage, that was already in disrepair, that Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer before departing for India in 1497.

The existing structure was started on the orders of Manuel I (1515-1520) to commemorate Vasco da Gama's successful return from India. It was originally meant as a church for the burial of the House of Aviz, but it also became a house of prayer for seamen leaving or entering port.

Construction of the monastery began in 1502 and took 50 years to complete. He used pedra lioz, a local gold-coloured limestone, for its construction. The building of the monastery was funded by a 5% tax on eastern spices, with the exceptions of pepper, cinnamon and cloves, revenue from which went straight to the Crown. By this influx of riches, the architects had enough financial margin to think big. The enormous amount of funds needed for this monastery, meant abandoning the construction of the Aviz pantheon in the Monastery of Batalha.