Ajuda (Lisbon)

Ajuda () is a Portuguese civil parish () in the municipality of Lisbon with an area and 17,961 inhabitants (in 2001); its density was 5707.3 inhabitants/km².

History

The parish of Ajuda, situated between the beach area of Belém and the foothills of the Monsanto was a place that was not conditioned for agriculture. A legend tells of a shepard, while crossing this zone had an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The news of this event spread rapidly, and quickly the area was visited by the faithful, many of whom came to live in the area. A chapel was constructed, and eventually other homes and huts. The small sanctuary was eventually replaced by a church, and the number of pilgrims grew year-after-year, even members of the upper-classes and high nobility appeared during religious services. Even D. Catarina, the wife of King John III of Portugal, appeared and prayed at the site, influencing members of the nobility to build residences in the area.

Ajuda became a religious parish in 1551.

During the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, 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...
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