History

It was originally built as an imposing military fortress and a prestigious royal emblem. At the time Portugal was without doubt a pioneer in maritime exploration.

The epoch of the Discoveries brought new perspectives of the relationships between peoples and nations in the world, through a greater knowledge of mankind and the planet.

At that time Lisbon was a multifaceted cultured city, with a strategic direction based on the sea and commercial trade. It represented the culmination of a process involving different races and peoples, and allowed the Portuguese to express their well-known individuality.

Situated some kilometres from the centre of Lisbon, the Tower of Belém was built where the river widens and joins the estuary, and the building sits on an outcrop of basalt, a type of rock which is highly resistant and impermeable.

Its purpose was to protect the city of Lisbon, one of the richest and most cosmopolitan in the world at the time, and the harbour of the river Tagus. The Tagus enjoyed an enormous and important sea trade. The Tower was also used as a prison to incarcerate political opponents of the Spanish occupation.

Constructed during the reign of King Manuel I, it was an integral part of the sea defences devised by his predecessor, King João II.

The defence plan was to construct three fortresses in the following places:

- Cascais bay;
- Caparica, at São Sebasti‹o or as it is commonly called the Old Tower;
- The Restelo Fortress on the right bank, later known as the Tower of Belém, after the name of the beach.

The three fortresses were complemented by the crossfire from three small caravels armed with large calibre guns using new technology not seen before.

This was soon to be surpassed with the coming of artillery using gunpowder to fire projectiles. Military strategy and tactics suffered profound alterations which were soon to revolutionise the concepts of military architecture.

The architectural form of the Tower was influenced by the arrival of this new artillery, which indicated the need for very strong walls and a polygonal bulwark.

King Manuel I continued the defensive plan started by his predecessor, commissioning the building of another tower similar to that of Belem.

This was called the Tower of St. Vincent, in homage to the patron saint of Lisbon. His successor, João III, followed the same plan and built the fortress in São Julião da Barra.

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