• Travelsignposts Home
  • Country Guides
  • City Guides
  • River Cruises
  • Europe Photos
  • About Us

Portugal Travel

  • Home
  • Photos
  • Map
  • Weather
  • Site Map
  • Destinations
  • Sightseeing
  • Shopping
  • Food
  • Getting around
  • Useful facts
  • News & Events
You are here: Home / Sightseeing / Sé de Lisboa – Lisbon Cathedral

Sé de Lisboa – Lisbon Cathedral

By Helen Page Leave a Comment

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Whilst Not as Grand as the Notre Dame, Sé de Lisboa is Nevertheless Rich in History:

Sé de Lisboa by Night..

The roots of Lisbon go back centuries. It was a bishopric of the nascent Catholic Church as far back as the 4th century. But unlike many European cities, the history of Lisbon took an odd turn in the 8th century. It was conquered by Muslim invaders and the Moorish occupation lasted for nearly 400 years.   The result for the modern traveler is that even such a common building as a cathedral takes on a somewhat different cast in this Portuguese city. The Sé de Lisboa, or the Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa, is just such an example.

History of Sé de Lisboa

After the first King of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques with help from the English, drove the Moors out of Lisbon in 1147, he began an ambitious building program. One of the first was the Lisbon Cathedral, as it has come to be known.

Like most from the Medieval period, the project continued for nearly the next 300 years. As a result, the building displays many styles, as changes were made during the effort.

The cathedral facade is relatively plain, a utilitarian set of walls that appear to the visitor like a fortress. But the interior contains many splendours. The chapel in the cloister, for example, holds architectural details that will delight anyone who enjoys cathedrals. Here one can see evidence of Lisbon’s Roman and Arab periods in the excavated central courtyard.

High barrel vaults and an impressive rose window

Built with the standard Latin cross plan, there are three aisles, a transept and a main chapel. The cloister is connected to the church on the east end. Standing in the centre one can look up in the direction of the entrance at an impressive rose window. As you do, you can easily observe the high barrel vaults that were the main innovation of medieval churches adapted from the Romans. The other rose windows admit the warm Lisbon sunshine to illuminate them with a gentle glow.

Sé de Lisboa - Lisbon

Walk to the ambulatory and spend some time admiring the Gothic tomb of Lopo Fernandes Pacheco, an heroic knight in the service of King Alfonso IV. Beside his is that of his wife, Maria Vilalobos, who is depicted reading a Book of Hours.

Alfonso was once buried in the main chapel, but the tombs were destroyed in the famed 1755 earthquake that devastated much of Lisbon. Near the entrance is another surviving tomb, this one of a rich merchant named Bartolomeu Joanes.

Main chapel rebuilt in Rococo style after the famed 1755 earthquake

Construction has continued off and on right up to the present. In the 18th century, after the earthquake, the main chapel was rebuilt in the Rococo style of the day. One evidence of this is the crib in Joanes’s chapel.

While no one would claim that Lisbon Cathedral is the equal of Notre-Dame in Paris, its rich history – as seen throughout the building – definitely merits a visit from the Lisbon tourist.

The cathedral is in the Alfama district and is easy to reach by taking tram or bus.

Lisbon Map:

Click here to get a free PDF of this post

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: lisbon cathedral, lisbon places to see, sé catedral, sé catedral de lisboa, se de lisboa, se lisbon

avatar

About Helen Page

Helen Page is a prolific blogger and ardent traveller; she runs Travelsignposts with her professional writer and photographer husband Tony.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Additions

  • Castelo Arraiolos – The Arraiolos Castle on the Hill
  • Arraiolos – Famous for its Embroidery and Arraiolos Carpets
  • Wine and Cheese Tasting in Arraiolos
  • Elevador de Santa Justa – An Eccentric Lisbon Elevator
  • Caldo Verde – A Portuguese Kale Soup

Plan and Book Your Trip


eNews and Updates

feedburner Sign up now to get emailed news as well as other site updates!

Get the Guerrilla Travel Photography ebook here now!
City Guides
Country Guides
River Cruises

Who is behind Travelsignposts?

Helen and Tony Page at Singapore Changi Airport

We're Helen and Tony Page, and we love travelling - lucky as we've been doing it for the last few decades!

Tony has long been a professional photographer and writer, but Helen now writes most of the posts and takes a lot of photos herself!

Travelsignposts is our main travel planning site, but we've just launched Travelsignposts China and Tony also runs the Travelsignposts Photo and Guerrilla Travel Photography web sites, as well as publishing the Take Better Digital Photos and Guerrilla Travel Photography eBooks.

Read more about Helen and Tony or contact them.

Other Countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Devon & Cornwall
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Europe (General)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Resources

  • Take Better Digital Photos eBook Take Better Digital Photos eBook
  • Take Better Digital Photos Free eCourse
  • Travel Signposts Photo – our main travel photography site
  • Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook

Copyright © 2023 ·Lifestyle Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in

Get a free PDF of this post!
Just enter your email address below and we'll send it to you immediately.

Please enter your Email Address