Monastery of the Hieronymites, Lisbon, Portugal

The Monastery of the Hieronymites started being built in 1501 by order of King D. Manuel I. One of the reasons was to have a final resting place for the members of the dynasty he started, the Avis-Beja dynasty.
The monastery was built in the characteristic Manueline style, a late Gothic style decorated with elements allusive to the Age of Discoveries- ropes, shells, caravels-, but also includes some Renaissance features.
The Monastery resisted well to the earthquake of 1755 but was damaged by the French Invasions of Portugal in the beginning of the 19th century.
In 1834 religious orders were extinct in Portugal and the monks of Saint Jerome, to whom king D. Manuel I had given the monastery, were forced to leave. It was at this time that most of its content was lost. The building was then passed on to Santa Casa da Misericórdia, a charity that cared for the orphans and the poor.
Renovation works started in 1860 and were finished in time to celebrate the 4th centennial of Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in 1498.
The Portuguese Ethnographic Museum (National Archaeological Museum) was installed in 1903, followed six decades later by the Maritime Museum and the Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium. 
In 1983 the monument was classified as World Heritage by UNESCO and in 1986 the Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community was signed here.

Opening hours: 10 am to 6.30 pm (5.30 pm Oct. to Apr.); closed on 1 Jan., Easter Sunday, May 1, Jun. 13, and Dec. 25.
Entrance fee: €10 (€12 together with the National Archaeological Museum)
How to go: Tram 15 or buses 714, 727, 728, 743, 749, 751, 773, 729

 Back to Lisbon














Local: Praça do Império 1400-206 Lisboa, Portugal

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