The Baixa ''(Downtown)'' (), also known as the Baixa Pombalina (''Pombaline Downtown'') is a neighborhood in the historic center of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal. It consists of the grid of streets north of the Praça do Comércio, roughly between the Cais do Sodré and the Alfama district beneath the Lisbon Castle, and extends northwards towards the Rossio and Figueira squares and the Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon), a tree-lined boulevard noted for its tailoring shops and cafes.

History

The Pombaline Baixa is an elegant district, primarily constructed after 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, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

. It takes its name from Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, the prime minister to Joseph I of Portugal from 1750 to 1777 and key figure of the Enlightenment in Portugal, who took the lead in ordering the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. The Marquis of Pombal imposed strict conditions on rebuilding the city, and the current grid pattern strongly differs from the organic streetplan that characterised the district before the earthquake. The Pombaline Baixa is one of the first examples of earthquake-resistant construction. Architectural models were tested by having troops march around them to simulate an earthquake. Notable features of Pombaline structures include the Pombaline cage, a symmetrical wood-lattice framework aimed at distributing earthquake force, and inter-terrace walls that are built higher than roof timbers to reduce fire contagion. It was placed on Portugal's "tentative list" of potential World Heritage Sites on 7 December 2004, which declares it superior to the planned areas in Edinburgh, Turin and London; in particular, the submission states that the plans for the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire in 1666 "does not implement overall principles" like those achieved in the Pombaline.

Landmarks

* Praça do Comércio * Rossio * Praça da Figueira *

Restauradores Square Restauradores Square ( pt, Praça dos Restauradores) is a public square in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. It is located at the southeast end of Avenida da Liberdade (Lisbon), Avenida da Liberdade, near Rossio, Rossio square. Details The square ...

External links

Tentative list
(English)
Baixa Pombalina website
(Portuguese)
Virtual Tour & Location Map of Baixa Pombalina
(English) {{Coord, 38, 42, 41, N, 9, 8, 14, W, scale:50000_region:PT, display=title Neoclassical architecture in Portugal Districts of Lisbon