Our final day in Portugal and I wanted a ‘taste’ of Lisbon so we did the obviously touristy things! The Tower of Belem was commissioned by King John I in the late 15C to strengthen the defense system at the mouth of the Tagus River and protect protect Lisbon. It was his successor, King Manual I who completed the project, in 1519. The Tower was built on an outcrop of rock close to the shore the earthquake of 1755 affected the course of the river and the Tower is now almost on the shore. It was named The Tower of St Vincent after the Patron Saint of Lisbon and altered several times during the following years.
Guns inside the Tower of Belem
Gun fixture
Looking upriver from the Tower
The gun emplacements inside the Tower
‘Ropework’ on the Tower
Moorish bartizan turrets on the Tower
Cross of the Order of Christ
Balcony in the Tower
