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Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum (Portuguese: Museu de Marinha) of Lisbon is dedicated to all aspects of the History of navigation in Portugal. The museum is administered by the Portuguese Navy and is located in the touristic district of Belem. It occupies a part of the neo-Manueline Western wing of the Jeronimos Monastery (together with the National Museum of Archaeology) as well as a modern annex built to the North of the monastery.
The history of the museum is deeply related to King Luis I (1838-1889), who was a lover of oceanographic studies and an accomplished navigator himself. He created in 1863 a collection of items related to the preservation of maritime history of Portugal, a collection that was enlarged in the following decades, culminating in the inauguration of the Maritime Museum in 1963 in its present location.
The exhibits include historical paintings, archaeological items and many scale models of ships used in Portugal since the 15th century. It is one of the most visited Portuguese museums.
Jeronimos Monastery
The Hieronymites Monastery, is located in the Belem district of Lisbon, Portugal. This magnificent monastery can be considered one of the most prominent monuments in Lisbon and is certainly one of the most successful achievements of the Manueline style (Portuguese late-Gothic). In 1983, it was classified by the UNESCO, with nearby Belem Tower, as a World Heritage Site.
History
The house for the Hieronymite monks was built on the same site of the Ermida do Restelo, a hermitage that was founded by Henry the Navigator at about 1450. It was at this hermitage, that was already in disrepair, that Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer before departing for India in 1497
The existing structure was started on the orders of Manuel I (1515–1521) to commemorate Vasco da Gama's successful return from India. It was originally meant as a church for the burial of the House of Aviz, but it also became a house of prayer for seamen leaving or entering port.
Construction of the monastery began in 1502 and took 50 years to complete. He used pedra lioz, a local gold-coloured limestone, for its construction. The building of the monastery was funded by a 5% tax on eastern spices, with the exceptions of pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, revenue from which went straight to the Crown. By this influx of riches, the architects had enough financial margin to think big. The enormous amount of funds needed for this monastery meant abandoning the construction of the Aviz pantheon in the Monastery of Batalha.
The monastery was designed in the Manueline style by Diogo de Boitaca (who was probably one of the originators of this style with the Monastery of Jesus of Setubal in Setubal). He built the church, the monastery, the sacristy, and the refectory. He was succeeded by the Spaniard Joao de Castilho, who took charge of construction in around 1517. Castilho gradually moved from the Manueline style to the Plateresco style, a style with lavish decorations that remind of silver ware (plata). There were several sculptors who made their mark on this building. Nicolau Chanterene added depth with his Renaissance themes. The construction came to a halt when the king Manuel I died in 1521.
The architect Diogo de Torralva resumed the construction of the monastery in 1550, adding the main chapel, the choir, and completing the two stories of the monastery, using only Renaissance motifs. His work was continued in 1571 by Jerome de Rouen (also called Jeronimo de Ruao) who added some Classical elements. The construction stopped in 1580 with the union of Spain and Portugal, because the building of the Escorial in Spain was now draining away all the funds.
The monastery withstood the Great Earthquake of 1755 without too much damage. But when the building became vacant in 1833 by the abolition of the religious orders in Portugal, it began to deteriorate to the point of almost collapsing. A cupola was later added to the southwestern tower.
On December 13, 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed at the monastery, laying down the basis for the reform of the European Union.
South portal
The ornate main entrance to the monastery was designed by Joao de Castilho and is considered as one of the most magnificent of his time. This shrine-like portal is large, 32 m high and 12 m wide, extending up for two stories. It features, surrounded by an abundance of gables, pinnacles, many carved figures standing under a baldachin in exquisitely carved niches, around a statue of Henry the Navigator, standing on a pedestal between the two doors.
The tympanum, above the double door, displays in half-relief two scenes from the life of Saint Jerome. On the left, the removal of a thorn by St. Jerome from a lion's paw, after which the lion became his best friend. The right scene depicts the saint in the desert. The spandrel between these scenes shows the coat-of-arms of king Manuel I. The statue with the sword in the niche of the pier prob

German postcard, E 23. Photo: Constantin. Still from Winnetou I (1963, Harald Reinl) with Lex Barker. Caption: "Old Shatterhand has also been sentenced to die at the stake. He regrets emphatically, that he rescued Winnetou from the Kiowas. An ordeal by battle will decide."

For many people born in the 1950’s or 1960’s Winnetou was one of our favorite heroes. Based on the novels written by Karl May (1942-1912) German director Harald Reinl and producer Horst Wendlandt came up with a series of eurowesterns which didn?t copy the American western. The European audience rewarded this and Winnetou I (1963, Harald Reinl) became a huge success and was followed by the sequels II and III. Nonetheless Winnetou I (officially Winnetou - 1. Teil and in English titled Apache Gold or Winnetou the Warrior) wasn?t the first film about the fictional Native American hero. One year earlier Horst Wendlandt had produced Der Schatz im Silbersee/Treasure of Silver Lake (1962, Harald Reinl) which became the most successful German film of the 1962/1963 season beating such films as Dr.No. Ok, The Karl May films are most fun to watch, when they remind you of your childhood, otherwise they may seem a bit too naive and cheesy.

Der Schatz im Silbersee/Treasure of Silver Lake and Winnetou I starred Lex Barker in the role of Old Shatterhand and French actor Pierre Brice as Apache-chief Winnetou. They both came up with a very fine performance and Brice, born in 1929, stayed Winnetou throughout his whole life. He played Winnetou in several sequels and after the Karl May period started to fade he performed this role on several stages in Germany. The music of German composer Martin Bottcher remains one of the best soundtracks ever composed. In 1962 the Winnetou theme stayed at top of the German charts for more than 17 weeks. Bottcher’s soundtrack with its famous title melody played on the harmonica by Rene Giessen is still breathtaking and works well with the romantic landscape. Principal shooting usually took place in national park Paklenica karst river canyon, Yugoslavia now Croatia. The early films preceded the Spaghetti western.
The storyline of every Karl May film is basically the same. The two friends Winnetou and Old Shatterhand try to solve the problems between red and white people and in the end they succeed, of course. According to Karl May's story, first-person narrator Old Shatterhand encounters Winnetou and after initial dramatic events, a true friendship between Old Shatterhand and the Apache Winnetou arises; on many occasions they give proof of great fighting skill but also of compassion for other human beings. It portrays a belief in an innate ‘goodness’ of mankind. Karl May was with about 200 million copies worldwide one of the best selling German writers of all time.

In the books of Karl May Winnetou became the chief of the tribe of the Mescalero Apaches (and of the Apaches in general, with the Navaho included) after his father Intschu-tschuna and his sister Nscho-tschi were slain by the white bandit Santer. He rode a horse called Iltschi (Wind) and had a famous rifle called "Silberbuchse" (The Silver Gun, a double-barrel rifle whose stock and butt were decorated with silver studs). Old Shatterhand became the blood brother of Winnetou and rode the brother of Iltschi, called Hatatitla (Lightning). Karl May's "Winnetou" novels symbolize, to some extent, a romantic desire for a simpler life in close contact with nature. In fact, the popularity of the series is due in large part to the ability of the stories to tantalize fantasies many Europeans had and have for this more untamed environment. In 2001 a parody of the Winnetou films, Der Schuh des Manitu, was directed by Michael Herbig.

"A thief, an impostor, a sexual pervert, a grotesque prophet of a sham Messiah!"..."The Third Reich is Karl May's ultimate triumph!" wrote Klaus Mann, son of Thomas Mann in 1940. To which Albert Einstein replied: "...even today he has been dear to me in many a desperate hour." Herman Hesse called his books "indispensable and eternal" and the director Carl Zuckmayer even christened his daughter Winnetou in honor of May's great Apache chief. Yet, the English-speaking world is almost totally ignorant of May and his heroes Winnetou, Old Shatterhand or Kara Ben Nemsi and his Arab friend Hadji Halef Omar who shared many an adventure in what is now called Kurdistan just over a hundred years ago. The reason is simple. Almost none of May's books have ever been translated into English.

Sources:Wikipedia, Julian Crandall Hollick (Karl May's Imaginary America), and IMDb.