Belém Tower or the Tower of St Vincent is a fortified tower in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Belém Tower was added on 7 July 2007 to the registry of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
The Belem Tower was Granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO, In 1983.
The fortress was named: Castelo de São Vicente de Belém, honoring the patron saint of Lisbon.
The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-meter, four-story tower.
The building was finished in 1519, just two years before Manuel’s death, and Gaspar de Paiva was temporarily stationed to command the fortress.
Belém Tower was commissioned by King John II.
Dungeons of the tower were used as a prison until 1830.
The architect, Francisco de Arruda, had previously worked on Portuguese fortifications in Morocco, so there are also Moorish-style watchtowers and other Moorish influences.
The tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore, now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
1 Comment
Comments are closed.