Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Lisbon
*** Shopping-Tip: Lisbon
{{Infobox_Municipality_pt|
|official_name = Lisboa
|image_coat_of_arms = LSB.png
|image_map = LocalLisboa.svg
|District =
Lisbon (district)
|Mayor_name =
Carmona Rodrigues
|Mayor_party =
Social Democratic Party (Portugal)|PSD
|area_total = 84.8
|population_total = 529,485
|population_density = 6,244
|Parishes =
53
|coor = 38º42'N 9º11'W
|params = 38_42_N_9_11_W
|occasion =
Anthony of Padua
|day =
June 13
|website = http://www.cm-lisboa.pt
|footnotes =
}}
Lisbon' (in Portuguese, 'Lisboa;
pron. International Phonetic Alphabet ) is the
capital_and largest city of
Portugal. It is the seat of the
Lisbon (district) and capital of
Lisbon (district) and capital of
Lisboa region. Lisbon has a population of 529,485 and its metropolitan area has a population of 2,665,000.
Geography and location
Lisbon is situated at 38°43' north, 9°8' west, making it the westernmost capital in mainland Europe. It is located in the west of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the point where the river
Tagus flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The city occupies an area of 84.6 km². It is important to say that, unlike most major cities, the city boundaries are narrowly defined around the historical city perimeter. This gave rise to the existence of several administratively defined cities around Lisbon, such as Loures, Odivelas, Amadora and Oeiras, which in fact are part of the metropolitan perimeter of Lisbon.
The historic centre of Lisbon is built on seven hills, making some of the city's streets too steep for motor vehicles; the city is served by three funicular services and one elevator. The western side of the city is mainly occupied by the
Monsanto Natural Park, one of the largest urban parks in Europe with an area close to 10 square kilometres (almost 4 square miles).
Parishes
There are 53 as
freguesias (
civil parishes) in Lisbon:
{|
| valign="top" |
- Ajuda
- Alcântara
- Alto do Pina
- Alvalade
- Ameixoeira
- Anjos
- Beato
- Benfica
- Campo Grande
- Campolide
- Carnide
- Castelo
- Charneca
- Coração de Jesus
- Encarnação
- Graça
- Lapa
- Lumiar
| valign="top" |
- Madalena
- Mártires
- Marvila
- Mercês
- Nossa Senhora de Fátima
- Pena
- Penha de França
- Prazeres
- Sacramento
- Santa Catarina
- Santa Engrácia
- Santa Isabel
- Santa Justa
- Santa Maria de Belém
- Santa Maria dos Olivais
- Santiago
- Santo Condestável
- Santo Estêvão
| valign="top" |
- Santos-o-Velho
- São Cristóvão e São Lourenço
- São Domingos de Benfica
- São Francisco Xavier
- São João
- São João de Brito
- São João de Deus
- São Jorge de Arroios
- São José
- São Mamede
- São Miguel
- São Nicolau
- São Paulo
- São Sebastião da Pedreira
- São Vicente de Fora
- Sé
- Socorro
|}
Climate
Lisbon is one of the warmest European capitals. Spring and Summer months are usually sunny and maximum temperatures close to or above 30 °C during July and August, with low between 15 and 20 °C. Autumn and Winter are typically rainy and windy, yet sunny days are not rare either, the temperatures rarely fall below 5 °C, usually staying at an average of 10 °C. Average sunny hours per year are 3300 h/y, and 100 days with rain per year. Lisbon climate is strongly influenced by the
Gulf Stream.
Demographics
The population of the city is 564 657, and the metropolitan area (
Greater Lisbon) is 2 665 000. Lisbon is located in the wider region known as
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, with a population of 3 500 000, constituting about a third of the population of Portugal. The population density of the city itself is 6 606.9 inhabitants per km². It's expected that the population of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area will increase to some 4,5 million by 2015 and more than 5 million by 2020. It's the fastest increasing region in Portugal.
Culture and sights
The heart of the city is the
Baixa or city centre; this area of the city is being considered for
UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The
Baixa is organised in a grid system and a network of squares built after the
1755 Lisbon earthquake, which levelled a big part of the medieval town. The
Castle of São Jorge and the
Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa|Santa Maria Maior Cathedral are located on one of the seven hills of Lisbon, to the east of the
Baixa. 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:
The
Castle of São Jorge, atop the tallest hill of the central city,
Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square),
Rossio Square,
Restauradores Square,
Elevador de Santa Justa, an
elevator (lift) in
Gothic revival style, built around
1900 to connect the Baixa and Bairro Alto.
Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon|Jerónimos Monastery,
Belém Tower.
The city of Lisbon is rich in architecture;
Romanesque,
Gothic,
Manueline,
Baroque,
Traditional Portuguese,
Modern and
Post-Modern constructions can be found all over the city. The city is also crossed by great boulevards and monuments along these main thoroughfares, particularly in the upper districts; notable among these are the
Avenida da Liberdade, Avenida Fontes Pereira de Mello, Avenida Almirante Reis and Avenida da República.
Notable among the city's museums are:
The
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art); the
Museu dos Azulejos (Museum of Portuguese-style Tile Mosaics); the
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, containing varied collections of ancient and modern art); the
Oceanário de Lisboa (Lisbon Aquarium, largest in Europe); the
Museu do Design at Centro Cultural de Belém (Design Museum); the
Museu Nacional dos Coches (National Coach Museum, containing one of the largest collections of royal coaches in the world) and the
Museu da Farmácia (Pharmacy Museum).
Lisbon's opera house, named
Teatro Nacional São Carlos, hosts a relatively active culture agenda, mainly in Autumn and Winter. Other important theatres and musical houses are the
Centro Cultural de Belem, the Teatro D. Maria and the Gulbenkian Foundation.
The monument to Christ the King
(Cristo Rei) stands on the left side of the river, in
Almada. With open arms, overlooking the whole city, it resembles the Corcovado monument in
Rio de Janeiro, and was built after the
World War II, as thanks for Portugal's being spared the horrors and destruction of the war.
Every June there are some 5 days of popular street celebrations in memory of a saint born in Lisbon —
Anthony of Padua (or Santo Antonio), a wealthy Portuguese bohemian who was
canonised after a life preaching to the poor, simpler people. Although Lisbon’s patron saint is
Vincent of Saragossa — whose remains are in the Cathedral (Se Cathedral) — there aren't any festivities related to him.
Parque Eduardo VII is the largest park located in the centre of the city, prolonging the main avenue (Avenida da Liberdade). Named after
Edward VII of England who visited it when it was inaugurated, it includes a large variety of plants in a large winter garden (Estufa Fria).
History
Neolithic era to the Roman Empire
During the
Neolithic the region was inhabited by the same peoples that lived in other regions of Atlantic Europe, and are known as the
Iberians. They built religious monuments called
megaliths.
Dolmens and
Menhirs still survive in the countryside around the city. The
Celts invaded after
first millennium BC and they intermarried with the Iberians, giving birth to the Celtic-speaking local tribes such as the
Conii and
Cempsi.
Archeological findings prove that a
Phoenician trading post existed in the place now occupied by the centre of the city since 1200 B.C.. The magnificent natural harbour provided by the
estuary of the river
Tagus made it the ideal spot for a settlement to provide foodstuffs to the Phoenician ships travelling to the
tin islands (modern
Isles of Scilly) and
Cornwall. The new city was named
Alis Ubbo or "safe harbor" in Phoenician. Besides sailing to the North, the Phoenicians also probably took advantage of the situation of the new colony at the mouth of Iberia's largest river to trade with the inland tribes for valuable metals. Other important local products were
salt, salted fish and the then widely famous Lusitanian horses. Recently, Phoenician remains from the eighth century B.C. were found beneath the
Middle Age Sé de Lisboa or main
Cathedral of the modern city.
According to an
Ancient Greek myth, the hero
Ulysses founded the city after he left
Troy and departed to the Atlantic to escape the Greek coalition. However, the foundation of the city by the Phoenicians predates any Greek presence in the area.
The Greeks knew it as
Olissipo', a name they thought was derived from Ulysses, though this was a folk etymology. In any case, the Greek name was corrupted in vulgar Latin to 'Olissipona.
Roman Empire to the Moorish conquest
During the
Punic wars, after the defeat of
Hannibal (whose troops included members of the Conii) the Romans decided to deprive Carthage in its most valuable possession,
Hispania (the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula). After the defeat of the Carthaginians by
Scipio Africanus in Eastern Hispania, the pacification of the West was led by
Consul Decimus Junius Brutus. He obtained the alliance of Olissipo which sent men to fight alonside the Legions against the Celtic tribes of the Northwest. In return, Olissipo was integrated in the Empire under the name of Felicitas Julia, a Municipium Cives Romanorum, that is, it was granted self-rule over a territory going as far away as 50 kilometres (30 miles), exempted from taxes and its citizens given the privileges of Roman citizenship. It was integrated in the newly created province of
Lusitania, whose capital was
Emerita Augusta. The attacks by the
Lusitanians during the frequent rebellions over the next couple of centuries weakened the city and a wall was built.
made Roman Archeology fashionable among Europe's upper classes.
Economically Olissipo was known for its
garum, a sort of fish sauce, highly prized by the elites of the Empire, and exported in
Amphorae to
Rome and other cities.
Wine,
salt and its famously fast
horses were also exported. The city came to be very prosperous through suppression of piracy and technological advances, which allowed a boom in the trade with the newly Roman Provinces of
Britannia (particularly
Cornwall) and the
Rhine; and the introduction of higher civilization to the tribes living by the river Tagus in the interior of
Hispania. The city was ruled by an oligarchical council dominated by two families, the Julii and the Cassiae. Petitions are recorded addressed to the
Governor of the province in Emerita and to the Empreror
Tiberius, such as one requesting help dealing with "sea monsters" alegedly responsible for shipwrecks. Roman Lisbon's most famous son was
Sertorius which early in the history of the Roman Period led a large rebellion against Dictator
Sulla. Among the majority of
Latin speaking peoples lived a surprisingly large minority of Greek traders and slaves. The city was connected by a broad road to Western Hispania's two other large cities,
Bracara Augusta (in the province of
Tarraconensis, today's Portuguese
Braga); and
Emerita Augusta, the capital of
Lusitania, today
Merida in
Spain.
In matters of religion, the city followed within the mainstream Roman Polytheist cults, but with special attention paid to the god of Medicina,
Asclepius and the Moon goddess
Cybele and a local lizard and snake divinity.
Olissipo, like most great cities in the Western Empire, was a centre for the dissemination of
Christianity. Its first
Bishop was
Saint Gens, and there were several martyrs killed by the
pagans during the great persecutions: Maxima, Verissimus and Julia are the most significant names.
At the end of the Roman domain, Olissipo was one of the first Christian cities. The first bishop was named Saint Gens, who still names one of Lisbon hills. It suffered invasions from
Alans,
Vandals and
Suevs before finally being included in the
Visigoth kingdom of Todelo.
Moorish Rule
Lisbon was taken by
Moors (it was called
al-ʾIšbūnah' (Arabic 'الأشبونة) under the
Arabs in the Eighth Century (approximately
711). Under Moorish rule, the city flourished. The Moors were
Muslims from North Africa. Many
mosques and houses were built as well a a new city wall, currently named the
Cerca Moura. The city kept a diverse population including
Christians,
Muslims, and
Jews.
Life in Muslim Lisbon was completely different from contemporary Lisbon life.
Arabic was the official language, and was spoken by the majority of the populace as their mother tongue.
Islam was the official religion, and by the 10th century, the majority of Lisbon's inhabitants were
Muslim.
The Moorish influence is still present in Lisbon. Many placenames exist that are derived from Arabic; the
Alfama, the oldest existing district of Lisbon, for example, is derived from the Arabic "al-hamma". And Lisbon's name itself, pronounced "Lizhboa" ("zh" as "s" in "pleasure")in Portuguese, is more directly derived from the Arabic name of the city, al-Ushbuna, than the Latin Olissipo. The azulejos that appear frequently throughout the city are originally
Muslim in style, and the word "azulejo" is derived from an Arabic word.
As part of the
Reconquista, in the year
1147, a group of combined
French,
English,
German and
Portuguese knights, led by
Afonso I of Portugal sieged and reconquered Lisbon. It is believed that part of its inhabitants, Muslim, Jew, and even Christian, was slaughtered. Lisbon was now back in Christian hands.
The fall of Islam is one of the most significant events in Lisbon's history.
Arabic lost its place in everyday life, and was replaced by
Portuguese. The majority
Muslim population was gradually converted to
Roman Catholic Church. The
Roman Catholic Church. The
mosques_were_turned into
churches.
From the Middle Ages to the Portuguese Empire
It received its first
Foral in
1179, and became the capital city of Portugal in
1255 due to its central location in the new Portuguese territory.
During the last centuries of the middle ages, the city expanded substantially and became an important trading post with both northern Europe and Mediterranean cities.
A
university school at Lisbon was originally founded in
1290 by
Denis I of Portugal as
Estudo Geral (General Study) (today the
University of Coimbra), being transferred several times to
Coimbra where it was installed definitively in the
16th century. The city refounded its own university in 1911 after centuries of inactivity in Lisbon, incorporating reformed former colleges and other non-university higher education schools of the city (such as the
Escola Politécnica). Today there are 3 public universities in the city (
University of Lisbon,
Technical University of Lisbon and
New University of Lisbon) and a public university institute (
ISCTE) - see
list of universities in Portugal.
Most of the Portuguese expeditions of the
age of discovery left from Lisbon during the XV to XVII centuries, including
Vasco da Gama departure to
India in
1497.
The
16th century marks the golden age for Lisbon. The city became the European hub of commerce with the Far East, while gold from Brazil also flooded into the city.
See Portuguese Empire.
The
1640 restoration revolt takes place in Lisbon (see
Philip III of Portugal).
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 between 60,000 and 90,000 people and destroyed eighty-five percent of the city
Voltaire] wrote a long poem, "Poême sur le désastre 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. Instead of rebuilding the medieval town, Marques de Pombal decided to demolish the remains of the earthquake and rebuild the down town in accordance with modern urban rules, in what would now probably be considered at least controversial.
19th and 20th centuries
In the first years of the
19th century, Portugal was invaded by the troops of
Napoleon Bonaparte and king
John VI of Portugal temporarily fled to
Brazil. Considerable property was pillaged by the invaders. The city felt the full force of the Portuguese liberal upheavals, beginning its tradition of cafés and theatres. In 1879 the
Avenida da Liberdade was opened, replacing a previous public garden.
Lisbon was the centre of the republican coup of
October 5,
1910 which instated the Portuguese Republic. Previously, it was also the stage of the
regicide of
Carlos I of Portugal (
1908).
During
World War II Lisbon was one of the very few neutral, open European Atlantic ports, a major gateway for refugees to the U.S. and a spy nest.
In
1974, Lisbon was the central destination point of the
Carnation Revolution maneuvers, the end of the Portuguese Corporative Regime (
Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo).
In 1986, a fire near the historical centre of Chiado greatly disrupted normal life in the area for about 10 years.
In 1994, Lisbon was the
European Capital of Culture.
Expo '98 was held in Lisbon. The timing was intended to commemorate the 500th anniversary of
Vasco da Gama's sea voyage to
India.
The
Lisbon Agenda was an EU agreement on measures to revamp the
EUeconomy signed in Lisbon at an EU summit in 1999, with progress well below original aspirations.
Contemporary Events
Lisbon hosted the
2004 European Football Championship|Euro 2004 competition.
Lisbon hosted
Taizé Community|the 27th Taizé New Year European Meeting from
28th December 2004 to
1st January 2005.
Every March the city hosts the world-famous
Lisbon Half Marathon, one of the most attended events of its kind in the world.
It regularly hosts countless other international events including various
NATO,
EU and other summits.
In January
2006, Lisbon was the starting city of the
Paris Dakar Rally.
Economy
Lisbon, as the capital city of Portugal, has an economy concentrated on services. Most of the headquarters of multinationals operating in Portugal are concentrated in this city. Greater Lisbon is also heavily industrialized, especially the south bank of the Tagus river (Rio Tejo).
The Lisbon region is by far the wealthiest in Portugal: it produces 45% of the Portuguese
Gross domestic product, and in per capita terms it is well above the rest of Portugal and above the
Gross domestic product, and in per capita terms it is well above the rest of Portugal and above the
European Union average. The Lisbon region is likely to stop receiving development aid from the EU in the coming years.
Transportation
Though the Lisbon public transportation network is extremely far-reaching and reliable, the city still suffers from endemic severe traffic problems.
Lisbon's transportation system has the
Metro as its main artery, connecting the city centre with the upper and eastern districts. Ambitious expansion projects will increase the network by almost one third, connecting the airport, and the northern and western districts. Bus, funicular and tram services have been supplied by the Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa (Carris), for over a century.
A traditional public transportation in Lisbon is the
tram. Originally introduced in the
XIX century, the trams were originally imported from the
U.S. and called the
americanos. The original trams can still be seen in the museum of the city bus and tram operator ([http://www.carris.pt Carris])
There are four suburban lines departing from Lisbon: the
Cascais,
Sintra and Azambuja lines as well as a fourth line to
Setúbal crossing the
Tagus river over the 25 de Abril bridge.
The city is connected to the far side of the Tagus by two important bridges:
- The April 25 Bridge, inaugurated (as Ponte António de Oliveira Salazar|Salazar) August 6, 1966, and later renamed after the date of the Carnation Revolution. It is the longest suspension bridge in Europe and a replica (made by the same engineers) of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
- The Vasco da Gama Bridge, inaugurated May 1998, is one of the longest in the world and the longest in Europe.Lisbon is connected to its suburbs and the rest of Portugal by an extensive motorway network. There are three circular motorways around the city; the 2ª Circular, the CRIL and the CREL.
Education in Lisbon
The city has several private and public
secondary schools and several international schools: St Julian's school, KAISL and St Dominic's school basic and
primary schools as well as
kindergartens.
There are 4 major state .
Gallery
Image:TelhadosLisboa1.JPG
Image:Parque_Eduardo_Setimo.JPG
Image:Porto_de_Lisboa_%282%29.jpg
Image:TeatroNacionalDMariaII.JPG
Image:Aqueduto_das_%C3%81guas_Livres_%281%29.jpg
Image:MonumentoRestauradoresLisboa.JPG
Image:Convento_do_Carmo_ruins_in_Lisbon.jpg
Image:Lisbon_calcada.jpg
Image:Jardim_Museu_Agricola_Tropical_Lisboa_1.JPG
Image:Porto_de_Lisboa_%283%29.jpg
Image:ArcoDoTriunfoLisboa1.JPG
Image:Aqueduto_das_%C3%81guas_Livres_%281%29.jpg
Image:Lisboa-Oceanario.jpg
Image:Torre_Vasco_da_Gama_01.JPG
Image:Gare_Oriente_Lisboa.JPG
Image:DSC00538.JPG
Miscellaneous
- Two EU agencies are headquartered in Lisbon; the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) (planned, not yet installed in Lisbon). The CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries [Portuguese Commonwealth]), is also headquartered in Lisbon.
- Lisbon is the original birthplace of fado music.
- The remains of Luís de Camões, author of the epic Os Lusíadas, can be visited at the Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon|Jerónimos Monastery. The remains of other great Portuguese men and women can be visited at the National Pantheon.
- Lisbon is served by Portela Airport, the largest in Portugal. Plans for construction of a new airport in Ota (50 km from Lisbon) have been around for years, with systematic postponements.
- The football clubs SL Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, playing in the highest Portuguese division and the European competitions are from Lisbon. Belenenses, other important sports club with a great tradition in Portuguese sport, is also from the Portuguese capital.
Buildings
- Vasco-da-Gama-Tower
- Gare do Oriente
Prominent people born in Lisbon
- Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
- Pope John XXI, né Petrus Juliani (1215-1277)
- Antonio Vieira (1608-1697), Society of Jesus
- Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705), queen consort of King Charles II of England
- Richard William Church (1815-1890)
- Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935)
- Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999), fado singer
- Mário Soares (born 1924), politician
- Paula Rego (born 1935), painter, illustrator and printmakerGreater Lisbon
see also Lisbon Metropolitan Area,
Lisbon, Region and Greater Lisbon''
Like most big cities, Lisbon is surrounded by many
satellite cities and
towns which depend on Lisbon for their economic and social life. It is estimated that close to one million people enter Lisbon every day from the outskirts. Among the most interesting neighbouring towns are
Cascais,
Estoril and
Sintra, including the westernmost point in
Continental Europe, the
Cabo da Roca cape, as well as beautiful palaces, landscapes and cultural life. Other major municipalities around Lisbon include
Amadora,
Oeiras,
Odivelas,
Loures,
Vila Franca de Xira and, in the south bank of Tagus river
estuary,
Almada,
Barreiro and
Seixal.
External links
Governmental
- Official page of the city
Photography
- Lisbon Photos a collection of Photos, showing Lisbon as it is to visitors.
- Travel to Lisbon Picture Gallery of Lisbon and surrounding area.
- A few pictures of Lisbon available under Creative Commons
- Lisbon Photo Gallery 78 pictures of the main sights in Lisbon
- Photos from Lisbon Hundreds of Lisbon's photosTravel guides
-
- Interactive map of Lisbon
- Lisbon Tourist Guide and Information
- Lisbon Pages
- Lisbon Guide
- Photoblog from Portugal Lisbon by eyes of foreigner
Lisbon
*** Shopping-Tip: Lisbon
