Lisbon is the largest city and the capital of Portugal. Its municipality, which has an area of 84 square kilometers, has a population of approximately 560,000. The Lisbon metropolitan area has 2.8 million inhabitants, while the surrounding metropolitan region has 3.3 million inhabitants. The greater Lisbon region is the wealthiest region in Portugal and is considered as the second most important economic and financial center in the Iberian Peninsula, with its high living standards, economic output, and market size. Lisbon produces 37 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Portugal. Its GDP per capita is above the average of the other countries in the European Union. Lisbon is also the political center and the seat of residence of the government and the country’s Head of State.Find out more about Lisbon
Lisbon underwent Roman rule in 205 BC, when it was already a thousand-year-old town. Julius Caesar transformed it into a municipality and named it Felicitas Julia, aside from its other name, Olissipo. In the fifth century AD, several German tribes ruled Lisbon. Three centuries after, the Moors captured the rule of the city. With the leadership of Alfonso Henriques and the help of the crusaders, the Portuguese conquered the municipality back. Since then, Lisbon became a major cultural, economic, and political center in Portugal. Unlike most capital cities that have been confirmed through a statute in written form, Lisbon’s status as Portugal’s capital city has never been officially granted. It only became the de facto capital of Portugal through the country’s constitutional convention.
Lisbon Geographical Location
Lisbon is located 38 degrees North and 9 degrees West. It is the westernmost capital of mainland Europe. Lisbon has an area of 84.8 square kilometers or 33 square miles. Unlike most major cities, the boundaries of Portugal define the perimeter of the historical city. This is the main reason why there are administratively defined cities found around Lisbon, such as Cacem, Queluz, Amadora, Loures, Odivelas, Almada, Sacavem, Oieras, Seixal, and Barreiro. The Monsanto Forest Park, which is one of Europe’s largest urban parks, occupies most of Western Lisbon. It has an area of nearly ten square kilometers or almost four square miles.
During the Neolithic Era, the Lisbon region was inhabited by Iberian-related peoples who built religious monuments we now call megaliths. The Menhirs and the Dolmens still live in the countryside surrounding the city today. After the first millennium BC, the Indo-European Celts invaded Lisbon and intermarried with the Iberian-related peoples, producing Celtic-speaking tribes in the area, such as the Cempsi.
Some historians believe that Phoenician trading posts settled at the center of Lisbon, the southern slope of Castle Hill. The estuary of the River Tagus provided the magnificent harbor, making it an ideal place for settlement where the people could provide food to Phoenician ships travelling to Cornwall and the Tin islands, now called Isles of Scilly.
The Greeks knew Lisbon as Olissipo and thought the names were derived from Ulysses, although this is a false etymology. According to ancient Greek mythology, it was Ulysses who founded the city after leaving Troy and escaping from the Greek coalition to the Atlantic. Later on, the name was translated in Vulgar Latin to Olissipona. Some of the native gods worshipped in Lisbon were Coniumbricenses, Bandiarbariaicus, Carneus, and Aracus.
Lisbon Architecture
The city of Lisbon is very rich in architecture. Traditional, Portuguese, Baroque, Manueline, Gothic, Romanesque, modern, and post-modern constructions are scattered all over the city. It is also full of monuments and great boulevards. Lisbon is also home to many famous museums, such as the National Museum of Ancient Art (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga), Museum of Portuguese-Style Mosaics (Museu de Azulejo), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian), Lisbon Oceanarium (Oceanario de Lisboa) – the second largest oceanarium in the world, National Museum of Costume and Fashion (Museu Nacional do Traje e da Moda), Berardo Collection Museum, National Coach Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches) Pharmacy Museum (Museu de Farmacia), and the Lisbon Orient Museum.
Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, the city’s opera house, hosts an active cultural agenda during the autumn and winter. Other important musical houses are the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Teatro D Maria II, and the Centro Cultural de Belem.
After World War II, the Christ the King Monument was built on the side of the river in Almada as Portugal’s form of thanksgiving for being spared from the destruction and horrors of the war. The Monument overlooks the city and resembles the Corcovado of Rio de Janeiro.
Lisbon Economy
The Lisbon region is Portugal’s wealthiest region. Its economy is primarily based on the tertiary sector. Almost all of the headquarters of the multinational copmapines operating in Portugal are based in the Grande Lisboa sub-region. The metropolitan area of Lisbon, especially the southern bank of the River Tagus, is heavily industrialized. The primary seaport of Portugal, which is also one of the largest and most sophisticated in the Iberian Peninsula, is located in Lisbon. Its heavily populated surroundings are developing as a dynamic technological hub and an important financial center.
Lisbon also has the most developed and the largest mass media sector in Portugal. It serves as a home to several media companies that range from radio stations, leading television networks, and major newspapers and publications.