Almada () is a city and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from

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 two cities are connected by the

25 de Abril Bridge The 25 de Abril Bridge (, 25th of April Bridge, ) is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus, Tagus River. It has a main span length of , ma ...

. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 174,030,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 70.21 km². The urbanized core center, the city of Almada proper, had a population of 101,500 in 2001. It makes part of the

Lisbon Metropolitan Area The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AML) is a metropolitan areas in Portugal, metropolitan area in Portugal centered on Lisbon, the capital and largest city of the country. The metropolitan area, covering 17 List of cities in Portuga ...

History

Human presence in the area of Almada dates to the end of the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period about 5000 years ago; archeological excavations performed in the municipality suggest that non-sedentary nomadic tribes may have occupied this location sporadically. The gradual development of settlement here made its greatest advance with the coming of Islamic civilization, when Muslims constructed a fort at Almada to defend and monitor the entrance to the Tagus River. Lying across the river from Lisbon, the area of Almada was a crossroads for a succession of various peoples who traded along the Tagus, including Phoenicians, Romans and

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

. As one of the principal Arab military bases along the southern margin of the Tagus, Almada was conquered by the Christian forces of Afonso I with the aid of English Crusaders in 1147. Alongside these Christians there lived many free Moors and Jews, under the royal protection guaranteed them by Afonso I in the charter of 1170 (which applied to all the former Moorish strongholds at Lisbon, Almada, Palmela and Alcácer). Almada received a foral from King Sancho I in 1190, although it came at a price: Miramolim Jacub-Abu-Jassuf, son of the Moorish leader who had laid siege to Santarém in 1171, was angered by the Christian victories and gathered a large army. He boldly attacked in the north, conquering Alcácer do Sal and Silves, while forcing the residents of Almada, Palmela and other towns along the Tagus into hiding. It would be some time after the death of Sancho before this region would be restored to Portuguese control. When this event occurred with the success of the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

in driving the Muslims out, the Order of Santiago, a donatorio of Almada after 28 October 1186, had an important role in the territory (especially between the Tagus and Sado Rivers). In this role, it facilitated the repopulation of acquired territories and was the beneficiary of the various local economies.

Geography

Although small in area, the city of Almada has a large population. It is bounded to the southeast by Seixal, to the south by Sesimbra, to the west by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and to the north and northeast by the Tagus River. At Cacilhas, its main port, ferry boats transport visitors and local residents across to Lisbon daily, while the

, which spans the Tagus, is traversed by rail, commercial and personal vehicles daily. Almada is considered a transportation hub and a fast-growing suburb; its coast has several sandy beaches and panoramic vistas. Located in the district of Setúbal, the municipality includes two cities, Almada and Costa da Caparica, and is divided into five civil parishes: * Almada, Cova da Piedade, Pragal e Cacilhas * Caparica e Trafaria * Charneca de Caparica e Sobreda * Costa da Caparica * Laranjeiro e Feijó

Demographics

Transportation

The

links Lisbon and Almada, which are on opposite sides of the Tagus river. The municipality is served by a light-rail transit system, the Metro Transportes do Sul, linking it to the suburban rail system ( Fertagus) serving Greater Lisbon and the municipality of Seixal.

Sanctuary of Christ the King

Notable citizens

Public service

* Joan of Portugal (1439–1475) Queen of Castile as the second wife of King Henry IV of Castile. * Elvira Fortunato (born 1964) a Portuguese scientist, professor in the Materials Science Department at the NOVA

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

* Diana Prata (born ca.1975) neuroscientist, head of the Biomedical Neuroscience at the

, brought up in Almada * Diogo Batáguas (born ca.1984) stand-up comedian and public figure, notable for his monthly YouTube program named "Relatório DB". * Rita Ferreira (born ca.1993) nuclear medicine resident, notable for her love of sundae caramelo.

Arts

* Vitor Gonçalves (born 1963) a Portuguese theatre director * UHF (formed 1970's) rock band formed in Almada * Anabela Braz Pires (born 1976) known as ''Anabela'', singer and musical theatre actress. * Xutos & Pontapés, (Wiki PT) (formed 1978) a Portuguese

Rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

* Sara Tavares (born 1978) a Portuguese singer, composer, guitarist and percussionist, family from Almada * Pedro Barateiro (born 1979) a Portuguese artist * Patricia Ribeiro (born 1981) transsexual singer, songwriter, dancer and convicted extortionist. * Da Weasel (formed 1993) a Portuguese hip-hop band/rock band from Almada * Aenima (formed 1997) a Portuguese dark wave, rock band * Ava Inferi (2005–2013) a Portuguese Doom Metal band

Sport

* Alfredo Murça (1948–2007) a Portuguese international footballer with nearly 400 club caps * Rui Eugénio (born 1966) a Portuguese former footballer with over 400 club caps * Rui Madeira (born 1969), a Portuguese rally driver * Luís Figo (born 1972) known as ''Figo'', former footballer with 570 caps and 127 for

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 ...

* Telma Monteiro (born 1985), world champion judoka * Silvestre Varela (born 1985) a footballer with over 400 club caps and 27 for

* Carlos Emanuel Soares Tavares (born 1985) known as ''Carlitos'', a footballer with 350 club caps and 32 for

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

* Aylton Boa Morte (born 1993) a Portuguese footballer with over 350 club caps * Mónica Mendes (born 1993) a Portuguese footballer with 51 caps for Portugal women * Miguel Oliveira (born 1995) a Portuguese professional MotoGP Rider * André Horta (born 1996) a Portuguese footballer * Rafael Leão (born 1999) a Portuguese footballer * Paulo Bernardo (footballer) (born 2002) footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Hunskelper and Scottish league and cup double winner 2023/24. * Gonçalo Inácio (born 2001) footballer who currently plays for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club Sporting CP and the Portugal national football team

International relations

Almada is twinned with: * Ostrava, Czech Republic * Porto Amboim, Angola * Regla, Cuba * Sal, Cape Verde

References

;Notes ;Sources *

External links

Almada MunicipalityAlmada Digital
{{Authority control Cities in Portugal Populated places in Setúbal District Municipalities of Setúbal District