Ajuda
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Ajuda () is a ''
freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...
'' (civil parish) and district of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, the capital of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. Ajuda is located in western Lisbon, northeast of
Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...
and west of Alcântara. The population in 2011 was 15,617.Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE)
Census 2011 results according to the 2013 administrative division of Portugal


History

The parish of Ajuda, situated between the beach area of
Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...
and the foothills of the
Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
was a place that was not conditioned for agriculture. A legend tells of a shepherd experienced an apparition of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
while passing the area. News of the event spread rapidly, and the area was visited by the faithful, many of whom settled there around a chapel built at the site of the vision. The small sanctuary was eventually replaced by a church, and the number of pilgrims grew to include members of the upper class and high nobility, who attended religious services.
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
Catherine of Austria, the consort of King John III of Portugal, eventually visited and prayed at the church, influencing members of the nobility to build residences in the area. Ajuda became an ecclesiastical parish in 1551. During the
1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, All Saints' Day, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In ...
, Ajuda did not escape the destruction, losing many of the buildings constructed over the centuries. This included the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Boa Hora ('), which was later reconstructed by the Augustine monks in 1756. The royal family too had to abandon the ''Palácio da Ribeira'' ('), and began living, along the court, in the ''Quinta de Cima'' in Ajuda, initially in wooden buildings, locally called the ''Real Barraca'' ('). The level of insecurity after the earthquake and tsunami forced many to install themselves in Ajuda; the population grew from 1059 inhabitants to 4748 residents. The village consisted of five separate agglomerations clustered around the roadways: Calçada da Ajuda (alongside Alcântara); Travessa da Estopa; Calçada de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda; Rua das Mercês and Rua da Paz. In 1762, Ajuda became a part of the municipality of Lisbon and dropped pretenses of a suburban locality. The parish was an agglomeration of houses, manors, quarries, earthen stoves and windmills. In 1768, the Marquis of Pombal, as part of his reconstruction initiatives, built the Botanical Gardens in the area of Horta da Quinta de Cima. It was also around that time, between 1766 and 1787, that Pina Manique had constructed the Ajuda Cemetery, where many of the royal servants were buried. The ''Real Barraca'' was subsequently replaced by a grande palace, the Ajuda National Palace; the construction began in 1795, but its construction was interrupted by the French invasion of Portugal and subsequent escape of the royal family to the colony of Brazil, but completed in the middle of the 19th century. It would become the official residence of King Carlos I. Between 1852 and 1885 Ajuda became integrated into the municipality of Belém, but was re-inserted by the end of the 19th century. Since the late part of the 20th century, the population has decreased, due to the exodus to the suburbs and periphery of the city.


Architecture


Palaces

* Palácio Nacional da Ajuda (') - initiated by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, the project was actually begun in 1795 (cornerstone), but under the directorship of Francisco Xavier Fabri and José da Costa e Silva the actual construction began in 1802, with many neo-classical influences and later remodelled by Francisco Rosa. Until 1910 it was the official residence of the
King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...
.


Parks and gardens

* Jardim Botânico da Ajuda located in Calçada da Ajuda opposite to the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda. It was built in 1768, during the time of King Joseph I, with the aim to his grandchildren learning about the various collection of plants (with over 5000 specimen) from Africa, Asia, and America. It is the first and the oldest Botanical Garden in Portugal. It is open every day from 9:00am to 6:00pm (Winter) and 8:00pm (Summer); closed on December 25 and January 1.


School

* Portuguese School of Equestrian Art


References

{{Authority control Parishes of Lisbon