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Exploring Portugal’s Maritime Legacy: A Visit to the Maritime Museum

🎬 Introduction

The Maritime Museum (Museu de Marinha) is another gem you can’t miss when visiting Belém – a place that historically served as a gateway to the world for Portuguese sailors venturing into the open seas. The museum is housed in the vast western wing of the 🔗 Jerónimos Monastery, making its location both unique and extraordinary.

After exploring the beautiful interiors of the church and cloisters, discovering this fascinating museum is a natural next step. Whether you are an architecture enthusiast, a lover of maritime history, or simply enjoy exploring exceptional places, the Maritime Museum is sure to captivate you. Visit and let yourself be transported back in time, exploring the richness of Portuguese maritime history in one of the most inspiring museums dedicated to this theme.

📖  The Story
King Luís I: Guardian of Portugal’s Maritime Legacy 👑

the-navy-museum-entranceThe Maritime Museum was established to commemorate the magnificent cultural heritage of a country that dominated the seas and oceans for centuries. Portugal’s remarkable achievements in navigation, unique shipbuilding techniques, and brave explorers brought prosperity and wealth to several generations.

King Luís I (1838-1889) was also proud of his ancestors’ heritage. His father, King Ferdinand II, instilled in him an interest in oceanography from a young age. Luís unexpectedly became king after the premature death of his older brother. By then, he was already a naval officer, an excellent navigator, and an expert in maritime affairs. Known for his high culture, he deeply understood the importance of preserving Portugal’s maritime heritage for future generations. To this end, in 1863, he issued a decree to establish the Navy Museum. Initially, it had an educational purpose and operated within the Naval Academy, from which it separated in 1936.

The museum’s first collection consisted of ship models from the Ajuda Palace, donated by Queen Maria II, Luís I’s mother, to the Royal Cadet Academy, along with exhibits from the Naval Academy that were no longer in use.

Jerónimos Monastery

The first mention of moving the museum to the Jerónimos Monastery dates back to 1934, but it wasn’t until August 15, 1962, that it officially opened at this location.

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A pivotal year for the museum’s collection was 1948, when Henrique Maufroy de Seixas decided to donate his vast collection. For over thirty years, he had run his own private museum, which largely consisted of ship models built from precise plans. Seixas conditioned his donation on the collection being displayed in a suitably grand and spacious venue.

The state stepped in to help, donating the Palace of the Count of Farrobo in Laranjeiras in 1949, where the museum was housed until 1962, when it was finally moved to the Jerónimos Monastery.

Visit🚶‍♀
Museu de Marinha
Tuesday
10:00 AM – 05:00 PM
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The Maritime Museum’s collection now includes over 18,000 exhibits, with 2,500 forming the permanent exhibition, which spans over 172,230.4 square feet. the-navy-museum-prince-henry-de-navigator

The museum tour begins with the Age of Discoveries, highlighted by the figure of Prince Henry the Navigator, whose majestic statue stands at the entrance. Behind him is a beautifully crafted world map illustrating the topography of Portuguese maritime achievements.

In the subsequent rooms, history is depicted through numerous ship models, paintings, and engravings. The collections are complemented by various navigational instruments, sailing maps, photographs, weapons, diplomas, and even everyday items from life on board.

The exhibits also cover the evolution of the merchant navy and the development of fishing. The largest segment focuses on the naval fleet, showcasing numerous warships, submarines, and riverboats used by colonizers in Africa and South America.

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In a separate pavilion, the royal ship collection is displayed. Notably, these are not models but authentic galleons used by the royal family and notable figures in the 18th and 19th centuries for voyages on the Tagus River. The most impressive of all is the royal brigantine, built in 1780.

At the end of the pavilion, three magnificent seaplanes used by the Portuguese naval aviation are exhibited. The first is the FBA “Shreck,” which arrived in Portugal during World War I in 1917. The second is the Grumman Widgeon, used until 1952, when the Portuguese Air Force was established, marking the end of naval aviation as a separate branch. The final exhibit is the famous “Santa Cruz“, which completed the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922, conducted by Portuguese Navy officers Admiral Gago Coutinho and Commander Sacadura Cabral. A replica of this plane stands on the waterfront next to the Belém Tower.

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