Lifau Monument
The Lifau Monument ( tetum Monumentu Lifau , Portuguese Monumento de Lifau ) is a monument in Lifau, East Timorese (Special Administrative Region Oe-Cusse Ambeno ), which commemorates the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese on the island of Timor .
Historical background
The Portuguese António de Abreu was the first European to sight Timor in 1512, but it is not certain whether he actually set foot on the island. On August 18, 1515, Portuguese Dominicans finally landed on Timor and founded the Lifau settlement on the site in 1556 to secure the sandalwood trade. The place became the first colonial capital of the Portuguese on Timor, who ruled part of the island until 1975. The area of the former colony now forms the state of East Timor. The landing of the Portuguese in East Timor is also equated with the beginning of the evangelization of the island.
The monument
A memorial plaque and a replica of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos originally marked the place where the Portuguese first set foot on Timorese soil.
On the occasion of the 500th anniversary, a new, monumental monument was inaugurated next to the Padrão on November 27, 2015. The center is a replica of a bronze caravel . The two sails are made of fabric and show the cross of the Order of Christ . There are also eight life-size bronze statues that represent the Portuguese and Timorese when they first meet. Two sailors stand on the ship, a soldier with a standard, a monk and the navigator face three Timorese warriors “on land”. In addition, paths, bodies of water and some steles belong to the monument. The entire monument weighs 10 tons, the caravel alone is 8.5 tons. At 13 meters in length, it is only about half the size of the real caravels in the past. The height is 4.5 meters, the width 3.2 meters. It was not cast in one piece. Instead, each component was manufactured individually and the caravel, like the original made of wood, put together piece by piece.
The monument was designed on behalf of the East Timorese Ministry of Tourism by Oliveira do Douro from Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal . Lusa Fernando Lage from the foundry ( Fundição ) Lage was responsible for the casting . The foundry had already produced the monumental figure of Pope John Paul II in Tasitolu , East Timor .
General view of the central ensemble
Back of the caravel
Image of the inauguration of the monument
The extensive facility
At the Padrão
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ East Timor’s first wife's Facebook page: Inagurasaun Monumentu Lifau halo ba tinan 500 , accessed on November 27, 2015.
- ↑ Website of the East Timorese government: 500 anos da Afirmação da Identidade Timorense , accessed on November 27, 2015.
- ↑ picture of the monument
- ↑ a b LUSA: Caravela em bronze feita em Oliveira do Douro é novo monumento em Lifau , November 19, 2015 ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 27, 2015.
Coordinates: 9 ° 12 ′ 2.29 ″ S , 124 ° 19 ′ 15.5 ″ E