2,5 Euro Portugalsko 2009 - UNESCO: Kláštor Jerónimos (UNC)

The Jerónimos Monastery is commonly held up as the "jewel" of the Manueline style. This exclusively Portuguese style combines architectural elements of the late Gothic and the Renaissance, associated with a Christological and naturalist regal symbolism, that make it unique and worthy of admiration. Construction was initiated in 1501 and work went on for almost a century. It was declared a National Monument in 1907 and in 1983 it was recognised by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
The coin was designed by sculptors Isabel Carriço and Fernando Branco and shows in its obverse the face value, the date and the national shield, with the caption - Portugal - on a field where the ogival veins of the ribbed vault of the church are represented with its keystones. The reverse shows the elongated shape and the sequence of arches on the facade of the monastery, its most characteristic feature, and, in the foreground, the south gate of the church. The composition is completed by the World Heritage logo and the word UNESCO.