Palácio Nacional de Belém
The Palácio Nacional de Belém or simply Palácio de Belém , in German National Palace of Belém , is a palace built in 1559 in the Belém district of the Portuguese capital Lisbon , which initially served the Portuguese royal family as a guest house and temporarily also as a residence. Since the Portuguese Republic and the introduction of the Portuguese Constitution of 1911, the "Palácio" located at Praça Afonso de Albuquerque has been the permanent seat of the Portuguese President .
history
Palace on the Tagus under Manuel of Portugal and the Count of Aveiras
Manuel of Portugal longed for a representative office near the Portuguese capital and therefore had the Quinta do Baixo (also known as Quinta do Meio ) built in the then Lisbon suburb of Belém near the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos , which had just been completed at the time . At that time, the bank of the capital river Tejo was much narrower, so that the palace was almost directly on the water and wide gardens lined the river bank. In the 17th century the palace came into the possession of the Condes de Aveiras , the Counts of Aveiras ( Azambuja ). The five individual buildings, which shape the exterior of the palace, as well as the terraces, from which a view over the adjoining Tagus is possible, date from this time.
Transfer to royal possession
In 1726, João V. , who had increased his fortune considerably with Brazilian gold, bought the site from the Count of Aveiras, João da Silveira Telo e Meneses , and had it fundamentally changed, especially with regard to the interior. Preciously furnished halls date from that time, often with clear references such as busts and medallions to the authorship of João V. It is said that King João used the palace primarily for his discreet, amorous conquests. At that time the palace was known as Casa Real de Campo de Belém ("Royal Country House in Belém") and Palácio das Leoneiras (roughly "Palace of the Lion Heads ").
During the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 , the royal family around King José I stayed in Belém and thus escaped the considerable destruction in the city center, including the Lisbon Royal Palace on the banks of the Tagus, the Paço da Ribeira, which fell victim to the earthquake. During the following weeks the family therefore resided in tents next to the Palácio de Belém , while the latter itself served as a replacement hospital. The Palácio suffered some damage from the earthquake, the reconstruction was initially carried out under the direction of the architect João Pedro Ludovice , later Mateus Vicente de Oliveira .
During the reign of Maria I , the Palácio was expanded to include a small monkey zoo. At the instigation of her son João, who later became King João VI. who was known as a great horse lover, the riding stable built under the Count of Aveiras was demolished. João had the Italian architect Giacomo Azzolini design a new riding stable or a small, 50 meter long and 17 meter wide horse arena. The construction work started in 1786 could not be finally completed until 1828 because of the many artistic designs by Portuguese artists. The National Carriage Museum is located in the stables today .
Guest house in Belém
At times the Palácio de Belém was also the royal seat. Maria II resided in the palace for decades when the Palácio das Necessidades was rebuilt. She was planning a coup attempt there with conservative politicians, the so-called Belenzada . Since the reign of Luís I , the palace has functioned as a guest house. Among others, Queen Isabella II of Spain , King Amadeus of Savoy , King Alfonso XIII stayed there. of Spain , Kaiser Wilhelm II and the French President Émile Loubet their stays in Lisbon. For a while, Prince Carlos I resided there with his wife Amélie von Orléans , after his accession to the throne they again moved to the Palácio das Necessidades .
Residence of the President
After the Portuguese Revolution of 1910 , the Palácio de Belém took over as the seat of the President of the Republic . In order not to give the impression that the incumbents were abusing the same rights as their royal predecessors, they had to pay a monthly rent to the state for the use of the palace. During the time of the First Portuguese Republic, the wake for the murdered President Sidónio Pais took place there, and Bernardino Machado announced his resignation in the palace and thus the practical dissolution of the First Republic.
At the time of the Estado Novo, the importance of the Palácio de Belém shrank considerably. The palace was still the seat of the president, but according to the Portuguese constitution of 1933, he played no role in everyday political life. Only Francisco Craveiro Lopes lived in the palace for a long time (1951–1958), Américo Tomás only used the Palácio de Belém for official receptions. Due to the low importance of the palace, the Belém district was not a target of the revolutionaries during the Carnation Revolution in 1974.
After the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, the group of Portuguese officers called Junta de Salvação Nacional resided in the palace, which had initially taken over the business of government after the revolution. Presidents Spínola and Costa Gomes also resided in the palace in their capacity as interim presidents. After the new constitution of 1976 came into force, the Palácio de Belém functioned again as the official residence of the Portuguese President. So far, only the first president, Ramalho Eanes , lived in the palace itself. The subsequent incumbents, Soares , Sampaio and the current president Cavaco Silva , only used it as a place of work and have their own apartments within Lisbon.
Due to its function as the residence of the President, almost all foreign delegations and heads of government are received in the Palácio de Belém . Every week, usually on Thursdays, the state president receives the prime minister for a working meeting, during which the prime minister briefs the state president on the current state of the government and the country. Every third Sunday of the month, usually at eleven o'clock, the official changing of the guard of the Guarda Nacional Republicana , which serves the President, takes place on Praça Afonso de Albuquerque in front of the palace.
At the instigation of President Jorge Sampaio , the Portuguese Ministry of Culture opened the Museu da Presidência da República , a museum on the history and function of all previous democratic presidents of Portugal, in the west wing of the palace on October 6, 2004 .
Since January 24, 1967, the Palácio was classified by the monument protection authority as Móvel dointerest público ("property of public interest"). Since August 3, 2007 the IGESPAR has classified the Palácio Nacional de Belém as a Monumento Nacional ("National Monument ").
Web links
- Information about the Palácio de Belém on the website of the Portuguese President (Portuguese, English)
- Palácio Nacional de Belém e todo o conjunto intramuros, nomeadamente o Palácio, os jardins e outras dependências, bem como o Jardim Botânico Tropical, ex-Jardim-Museu Agrícola Tropical. In: Pesquisa Geral - Pesquisa do Patrimonio. Direção Geral do Património Cultural , accessed March 23, 2018 (Portuguese).
Footnotes
Coordinates: 38 ° 41 '52.8 " N , 9 ° 12' 2.2" W.