Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Heads of state are often received in the cloisters with a warm welcome. This is also
the site of many important treaty signings, such as Portugal's admittance to the European
Union in 1986.
Upstairs:
You'll find a bookshop, WCs (women's upstairs, men's down-
stairs—guys, watch your head), and better views of the church and the cloisters, along
with exhibits about the monastery's history.
Monks often accompanied the sailor-pirates on their trading/pillaging trips, hoping to
convert the heathens to Christianity. Many expeditions were financed by the Knights of
Christ, a brotherhood of soldier monks. (The monks who inhabited these cloisters were
Hieronymites—followers of St. Jerome, hence the monastery name of Jerónimos.)
King Manuel, who did so much to promote exploration, was also the man who forcibly
expelled all Jews from the country. (In 1497, the Church agreed to allow him to marry
a Spanish princess on the condition that he deport the Jews.) Francis Xavier, a Spanish
Jesuit, did much of his missionary work traveling in Asia in the service of Portugal.
It was a time of extreme Christian faith. The sheer size of this religious complex is a
testament to the zealous motivation that—along with money—propelled the Age of Dis-
covery.
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Maritime Museum (Museu de Marinha)
—If you're interested in Portugal's historic
ships and navigational tools, this museum, which fills the west wing of the Monastery of
Jerónimos (listed earlier) and has good English descriptions, is worth a look. Sailors love
it.
Cost and Hours:
€5, free Sun 10:00-14:00; open April-Sept Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00,
off-season until 17:00, closed Mon; facing the planetarium from the square, a cafeter-
ia—open to the public—is to your left and the museum entrance is to your right.
