11 Interesting Facts About Belem Tower That You May Not Know

During the reign of King John II, there used to be a line of defence in place in the exact location where the tower is at. Later, his successor, King Manuel I believed that building a permanent tower would be more viable than having a ship on the water. This is how the construction of the Belém Tower commenced. The ship has multiple canons and this structure was replaced with a stone fortification in the 16th century.

A fascinating Belém Tower fact is that it was constructed on a small outcrop of the Tagus River. Due to an earthquake that took place in 1755, the location of the Belém Tower shifted. The course of the river gradually moved due to the destruction and the small island got closer to the land, thus merging the two over time and making it all the more impressive. Today, the iconic structure just appears as a tower on the bank of the river that has a perfect view of the ships arriving in the city.

In the year 1514, plans were in place to construct a tower, and the famous military architect Francisco de Arruda would lead the job. He was an experienced architect as he had built a lot of fortresses in North Africa earlier and was the right fit for the work. He was referred to as the ‘Master of the works of the Belém stronghold’ by the King himself and had managed to finish the tower in about 5 years in 1519.

The Belém Tower is extremely impressive from the outside but is equally majestic from the inside as well. The first level is the Governor’s Hall, the second is the King’s Hall and the third level consists of the Audience Hall. The lower bastion consists of the canons that are kept facing over the sea to be ready to fire in case of any danger. Inside, there is a spiral staircase that can be explored, a rooftop terrace from which you can soak in the views of the city, and a lot of intricate architectural details that are worth exploring.

The Belém Tower is named after the area in which it was constructed, Santa Maria de Belém, which is one of the districts in the metropolitan region of Lisbon. The official name of the Belém Tower is “Torre de São Vicente de Belém” or the “Tower of Saint Vincent,” as it was initially named after the patron saint of Lisbon.

Since this style originated in the 16th century, you can see that there is a transition in the design from the Late Gothic style to the Renaissance form. The style integrated maritime elements and portrays the discoveries that were made by famous Portuguese explorers such as Pedro Alvares Cabral and Vasco da Gama.

In the early 15th century, King Manuel I used the dungeons of the building to keep his enemies captive. During the 1580 battle, the Portuguese monarch surrendered to Spain’s Duke of Alba. After this, the city needed more prisons and the Belém Tower was used to accommodate the enemies as it had extra space. This way till 1830, these dungeons for used for this purpose.

The Belém Tower had served for a variety of reasons – a ceremonial gateway, a prison for most of its existence as well as a military fortification. Another crucial role it played was that it was used as a control post in 1655 to collect taxes from ships that entered the harbour of Lisbon, Portugal.

You can spot these figures on the base of the external facing turrets. It is the first representation of a rhinoceros in any Western European art. It is believed that the architects were very inspired by King Manuel I as he had gifted one of these animals to Pope Leo X in 1515. The figures are extremely small and intricately detailed.

Lisbon is famous for holding numerous World Heritage Sites that are listed by UNESCO. The Belém Tower joined the club in 1983 after its long existence as one of the country’s most important and iconic landmarks in Portugal and continues to be one of the most popular tourist attractions in Lisbon.