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Lisbon

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For other uses, see Lisbon (disambiguation).
Map showing district of Lisbon in Portugal
Map showing district of Lisbon in Portugal

Lisbon (in Portuguese, Lisboa) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is the seat of the district of Lisbon.

Geography

Lisbon is located in the west of the country, on the Atlantic coast at the point where the river Tagus (Portuguese Tejo) flows into the ocean. The city occupies an area of 84.6 km2. The city comprises 53 freguesias.

The city is connected to the far side of the Tagus by two bridges:

Demographics

The population of the city is 564,657, according to the 2001 census, although the metropolitan area (Greater Lisbon) is 2,662,949, constituting about a third of the population of Portugal. The population density of the city itself is 6,606.9 inhabitants per km2.

Highlights

Panoramic view of Lisbon from Miradouro de Santa Luzia with Mosteiro de São Vicente on the left and St Michael's church in the Alfama on the far right.

The heart of the city is the Baixa or lower town, location of the São Jorge Castle and the Santa Maria Maior Cathedral. The oldest district of the city is Alfama, close to the Tagus, which has made it relatively unscathed through the various earthquakes.

Other monuments include:

Notable among the city's museums are:

History

According to varying reports, the city was founded either by Phoenecians or Greeks. The Greeks knew it as "Olissipo", derived from Ulysses; over time, this became "Olissipona", "Lissapona" and finally the modern Portuguese "Lisboa".

The city was part of Roman Lusitania (although not the capital), was taken by Moors in the Eighth Century (approximately 711), was reconquered 1147 by Don Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal (with the help of crusader Gilbert of Hastings, who became the first Bishop of Lisbon), and has been the capital of Portugal since 1260.

The University of Lisbon was founded in 1290.

Lisbon reached its peak of prosperity during the period of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century.

On 26 January 1531 the city was hit by an earthquake which killed thousands.

On 1 November 1755 Lisbon was destroyed by another earthquake, the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which killed 90,000 and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city [1]. Voltaire wrote a long poem, "Poeme sur le desastre de Lisbonne", shortly afterwards, and mentioned the earthquake in his 1759 novel Candide (indeed, many argue that this critique of optimism was inspired by that earthquake). Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. also mentions it in his 1857 poem, The Deacon's Masterpiece, or The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay.

After the 1755 earthquake, the city was rebuilt largely according to the plans of the Marquês de Pombal; hence the designation of the lower town as Baixa Pombalina.

Lisbon was the center of a republican revolt October 4-5,1910 and the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, which overthrew Antonio Salazar's handpicked successor Marcelo Caetano.

Events

Expo '98 was held in Lisbon. The timing was intended to commemmorate the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's sea voyage to India.

Economy

Major industries in Lisbon include steel, textiles, chemicals, pottery, shipbuilding and fishing.

Miscellaneous

Lisbon is one of the centers of fado music.

The remains of Luís de Camões, author of the epic Os Lusíadas, can be visited at the Jerónimos Monastery.

Lisbon is served by Portela Airport.

Prominent people born in Lisbon

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