Portal:Portugal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welcome to the Portugal portal

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, overlooking the Tagus river
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, overlooking the Tagus river

Flag of Portugal
Location of Portugal in Europe

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe, its mainland west and south border with the North Atlantic Ocean and in the north and east, the Portugal-Spain border constitutes the longest uninterrupted border-line in the European Union. Its archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. In the mainland, Alentejo region occupies the biggest area but is one of the regions in Europe with a lower population density. Lisbon is the capital and largest city by population, being also the main spot for tourists alongside Porto and Algarve.

One of the oldest countries in Europe, its territory has been continuously settled and fought over since prehistoric times. The territory was inhabited by the Celtic and Iberian peoples, such as the Lusitanians, the Gallaecians, the Celtici, Turduli, and the Conii. These peoples had some commercial and cultural contact with Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Carthaginians. It was later ruled by the Romans, followed by the invasions of Germanic peoples together with the Alans, and later the Moors, who were eventually expelled during the Reconquista. Founded first as a county within the Kingdom of León in 868, the country officially gained independence as the Kingdom of Portugal with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143.

During the 15th and 16th centuries Portugal led the Age of Discovery and established one of the longest-lived maritime and commercial empires, becoming one of the main economic and political powers of the time. By the early 19th century, events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country's occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the resulting independence of Brazil in 1822 led to a marked decay of Portugal's prior opulence. This was followed by the civil war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists over royal succession from 1828 to 1834. The 1910 revolution deposed Portugal's monarchy, and established the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic, later superseded by the authoritarian regimes of Ditadura Nacional (National Dictatorship) and Estado Novo (New State). Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution (1974), ending the Portuguese Colonial War and eventually losing its remaining colonial possessions. (Full article...)

A view of the yellowish landscape of the Serra Amarela (Yellow Range)

The Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portuguese: Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpaɾkɨ nɐsjuˈnal pɨˈneðɐ ʒɨˈɾeʃ]), also known simply as Gerês, is a national park located in northern Portugal. Created in May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. It covers an area of 695.9 km2 (268.7 sq mi), occupying the Districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, and Vila Real and bordering the Spanish Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés natural park to the north, with which forms the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Gerês-Xurés.

Peneda-Gerês was given its name by its two main granite massifs, the Serra da Peneda and the Serra do Gerês which, with the Serra Amarela and the Serra do Soajo, constitute the park's highest peaks. On the other hand, the precipitous valleys, crossed by high flowing streams, host lush temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of oak and pine, being one of the last strongholds of the typical Atlantic European flora of Portugal, contrasting with an evolving Mediterranean biome. The park is also home to around 220 vertebrate species, some only native to the Iberian Peninsula including the threatened Pyrenean desman, Iberian frog, or gold-striped salamander. (Full article...)

Featured article - show another

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

The Palace of Queluz. The "Ceremonial Façade" of the corps de logis designed by Mateus Vicente de Oliveira.

The Palace of Queluz (Portuguese: Palácio de Queluz, Portuguese pronunciation: [kɛˈluʃ]) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for King José I's brother, Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and king jure uxoris (as King Pedro III) to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Pedro III's death in 1786. Following the destruction of Ajuda Palace by fire in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese Prince Regent João, and his family, and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807, following the French invasion of Portugal.

Work on the palace began in 1747 under Portuguese architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the "Portuguese Versailles." From 1826, the palace slowly fell from favour with the Portuguese sovereigns. In 1908, it became the property of the state. Following a serious fire in 1934, which gutted one-third of the interior, the palace was extensively restored, and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. (Full article...)

General images

The following are images from various Portugal-related articles on Wikipedia.

Selected quote - show another

"Communism fundamentally distinguishes itself from fascism because it was the first."

O comunismo distingue-se fundamentalmente do fascismo porque foi o primeiro.
Vergílio Ferreira, writer

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Póvoa de Varzim (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɔvu.ɐ ðɨ vɐɾˈzĩ] ) is a Portuguese city in Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, 30 km (18.6 mi) from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho and Douro rivers. In 2001, there were 63,470 inhabitants, with 42,396 living in the city proper. The city expanded southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there are about 100,000 inhabitants in the urban area alone. It is the seventh-largest urban agglomeration in Portugal and the third largest in Northern Portugal.

Permanent settlement in Póvoa de Varzim dates back to around four to six thousand years ago. Around 900 BC, unrest in the region led to the establishment of Cividade de Terroso, a fortified city, which developed maritime trade routes with the civilizations of classical antiquity. Modern Póvoa de Varzim emerged after the conquest by the Roman Republic of the city by 138 BC; fishing and fish processing units soon developed, which became the foundations of the local economy. By the 11th century, the fishing industry and fertile farmlands were the economic base of a feudal lordship and Varzim was fiercely disputed between the local overlords and the early Portuguese kings, which resulted in the establishment of the present day's municipality in 1308 and being subjugated to monastic power some years later. Póvoa de Varzim's importance reemerged with the Age of Discovery due to its shipbuilders and merchants proficiency and wealth, who traded around the globe in complex trade routes. By the 17th century, the fish processing industry rebounded and, sometime later, Póvoa became the dominant fishing port in northern Portugal. (Full article...)

Selected Biography - show another

Selected picture - show another

A Portuguese F-84 being loaded with amunition in the 60's, at the Luanda Air Base, during the Portuguese Colonial War

Portugal topics

Portugal lists

Subcategories

Recognized content

Featured articles

Former featured articles

Featured lists

Former featured lists

Good articles

Former good articles

Did you know? articles

Featured pictures

Former featured portals

In the News articles

Main page featured articles

Picture of the day pictures

Featured topics

New articles

This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2024-05-12 21:25 (UTC)

Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.















{{{1}}}

Things you can do

Related Portals

Related WikiProjects

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals

Purge server cache