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'Leiria' (pron. IPA []) is a city and a municipality in central Portugal. It is the capital of the District of Leiria. The city proper has 42,745^[1] inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000.

Contents

Geography and Location

Climate

Demographics

History

Events

Economy

Transportation

Education

Parishes

References

See also

External links

Geography and Location

Leiria is located halfway between Lisbon and Porto. The distance to Lisbon is 146 km and to Coimbra 72 km. The historic city centre spreads between the castle hill and the river Lis.

Climate

Leiria is close to the Atlantic Ocean, therefore Spring and Summer months are usually sunny and the temperatures very high during July and August, with highs usually above 30°C only rarely reaching 40°C. Autumn and Winter are typically rainy and windy, yet sunny days are not rare either, the temperatures rarely fall below 5°C, usually staying at an average of 10°C. Leiria's climate is classified as Atlantic-Mediterranean.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the population of the city is 50,200.
The city is divided into 6 parishes, and the municipality as a whole has a population of 119,870 in 29 parishes.

History

The region around Leiria has been inhabited for a long time, although its early history is very obscure. The Turduli, an indigenous people from Iberia, established a settlement near (around 7 km) present-day Leiria. This settlement was later occupied by the Romans, who expanded it under the name ''Collippo''. The stones of the ancient Roman town were used in the Middle Ages to build much of Leiria.

Little is known about the area in Visigothic times, but during the period of Arab domination Leiria was already a village with a garrison. Moorish Leiria was captured by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques in 1135, during the so-called Reconquista. The settlement was shortly retaken by the Moors in 1137 and then in 1140. In 1142 Afonso Henriques reconquered Leiria, dating from this year its first ''foral'' (compilation of feudal rights) to stimulate the colonisation of the area.
Both Afonso Henriques and Sancho I rebuilt the walls and the castle of the village to avoid new Moorish incursions. Most of the population lived inside the protective city walls, but already in the 12th century part of the population lived outside the walls. The oldest church of Leiria, the Church of Saint Peter (''Igreja de São Pedro''), built in romanesque style in the last quarter of the 12th century, served the parish located outside the walls.
During the Middle Ages the importance of the village increased, and it was the setting of several ''cortes'' (feudal parliaments). The first of the ''cortes'' held in Leiria were in 1245, under King Afonso II. In the early 14th century, King Dinis I restored the keep tower of the citadel of the castle, as can be seen in an inscription in the tower. He also built a royal residence in Leiria (now lost), and lived for long periods in the town, which he donated as feud to his wife, Isabel. The King also ordered the plantation of the famous Pine Forest of Leiria (''Pinhal de Leiria'') near the coast. Later, the wood from this forest would be used to build the ships used in the Portuguese Navigations of the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the late 15th century, King John I built a royal palace within the walls of the castle of Leiria. This palace, with elegant gothic galleries that offered wonderful views of the town and surrounding landscape, was totally in ruins but was partially rebuilt in the 20th century. John I also sponsored the rebuilding in late gothic style of the old Church of Our Lady of the Rock (''Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Pena''), located inside the castle.



Towards the end of the 15th century the town continued to grow, occupying the area from the castle hill down to the river Lis. In Leiria was printed the first book in Portugal. King Manuel I gave it a new ''foral'' in 1510, and in 1545 it was elevated to the category of city and became seat of a Diocese. The Cathedral of Leiria was built in the second half of the 16th century in a mix of late gothic (manueline) and late renaissance (mannerist) styles.
Compared to the Middle Ages, the subsequent history of Leiria is of relative decadence. In the 20th century, however, its strategic position in the Portuguese territory favoured the development of a diversified industry.

Events

The 2004 European Football Championship, commonly called EURO 2004 took place in several stadiums in Portugal, one of them Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium situated down the hill of the castle. The city of Leiria has also its own football (soccer) team: União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly called just União de Leiria. They currently play in the top of Portuguese football, the Liga betandwin.com.

Economy

Leiria has an economy concentrated on services. It also has several industries related with plastics and moulds, as well as animal food, milling, cement, civil construction, tourism and others.

Transportation

Leiria is connected to its suburbs and the rest of Portugal by a motorway network. There are two motorways paasing the city; the A1 and the A8.

Education

Leiria hosts a regional public polytechnic institution of higher education, the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria [1].

Parishes

The 29 parishes of Leira are:

★ Amor

★ Arrabal

★ Azoia

★ Bajouca

★ Barosa (Leiria)

★ Barreira (Leiria)

★ Bidoeira de Cima

★ Boa Vista

★ Caranguejeira

★ Carreira

★ Carvide

★ Chainça

★ Coimbrão

★ Colmeias

★ Cortes

★ Leiria

★ Maceira

★ Marrazes (Leiria)

★ Memória

★ Milagres

★ Monte Real

★ Monte Redondo

★ Ortigosa

★ Parceiros (Leiria)

★ Pousos

★ Regueiros de Pontes

★ Santa Catarina da Serra

★ Santa Eufémia

★ Souto da Carpalhosa

References

1. UMA POPULAÇÃO QUE SE URBANIZA, Uma avaliação recente - Cidades, 2004 Nuno Pires Soares, Instituto Geográfico Português (Geographic Institute of Portugal)

See also

★ Centro Region, Portugal

External links

★ Municipality of Leiria

★ Photos from Leiria