Parish of Ajuda

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The parish of Ajuda is located in the western part of Cidade de Lisboa, neighbor to the Parish of Belém, of which it was once part.

National Palace of Ajuda, postcard from Ajuda
The Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, also known as Paço de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, in Parish of Ajuda, is a National Monument and has already functioned as Royal Palace in the past (see below).

The parish of Ajuda is the eighteenth most populous parish in Lisbon.

Area and Population

Decline in resident population
With 2.88 km², the parish of Ajuda has a population of 14,313 inhabitants (INE, 2021). In 2011, the Parish of Ajuda had a population of 15,617 inhabitants (idem), having recorded a drop of 8.3% in its resident population in this period.

Population peak in the 1950s
The parish of Ajuda had its population peak during the 1950s, when it arrived to have almost 35,000 inhabitants.

Low population density
With 4,967 inhabitants per km², Ajuda has a population density a little below the average in relation to other parishes in the municipality of Lisbon.

Residential neighborhood
Ajuda, with many green spaces (Monsanto Park and the Tapada da Ajuda Garden), it is a comfortable, safe, peaceful and quiet residential neighborhood, considered a good option for to live.

Location

Located in the western part of the Portuguese capital, 7.5 km from the Sé de Lisboa, the The parish of Ajuda is limited to the north by the parish of Benfica, to the east and southeast with the parish of Alcântara and to the west and southwest with the parish of Belém.

A bit of history

Our Lady of Help Chapel
"The parish of Ajuda bases its entire historical principle on the way in which most of the parishes were usually founded. Portuguese settlements, that is, around a pilgrimage hermitage. In the case of Ajuda, according to legend, the news when an image was found in a crevice of a rock, people flocked to the place to see and venerate it. The customary trip of the people became a pilgrimage and later, the need to have a place to see and worship (...) a place to store the offerings, led to the construction of a hermitage to Nossa Senhora da Ajuda. Soon, around the hermitage, sales tents, tents and even houses for people who wanted to live under the sanctuary's protection" [JF da Ajuda].

The parish was created in 1551, with the population that had been formed, according to legend, after the construction of the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, who would have appeared to a shepherd.

Barraca Real (formerly the Royal Palace)
The nobles also adhered to the devotion and even after the Earthquake of 1755, the royal family abandoned the Palácio da Ribeira and settled in a farm, the Quinta de Cima, located on the outskirts of the Nossa Senhora da Ajuda Chapel, in what was known as the Royal Tent. Later, in 1795, the Ajuda Palace was built on this site.

Ajuda National Palace

The Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, also known as Paço de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, in Parish of Ajuda, is a National Monument. It functioned as the Royal Palace (replaced the Real Barraca) and after the implantation of the Republic, in 1910, it was definitively transformed into a museum in 1968. Several public bodies function in their facilities (Direcção Geral do Patrimônio, the National Library of Ajuda, the Ministry of Culture, among others).

Quinta de Cima

The Quinta de Cima da Ajuda - current Botanical Garden - was the place where the Barraca Real, the Royal Palace after the Earthquake of 1755. Under the impulse and influence of Queen D. Catarina, wife of D. João III, the nobles also began to settle in the vicinity of this place.

Help, Lisbon's new Bairro Alto

After losing population since the 1950s (when it had more than 34 thousand inhabitants), with the recent improvements made in Parish, Ajuda Parish has once again received the attention and interest of new inhabitants.

Main Attractions in the parish of Ajuda

The Parish of Ajuda has a rich and varied historical and religious heritage, as a result of its relevance in the history of city (earthquake) and Portugal.

• the National Palace of Ajuda (Paço da Ajuda)

• the Church of Memory

• the Botanical Garden of Ajuda (1768)

• the Convent of Our Lady of Good Hour


Learn more: Attractions of the Parish of Ajuda

Appreciated Neighborhood

Freguesia and Bairro da Ajuda are among the best rated places in the Portuguese capital, being a good place to live. From the Cathedral of Lisbon to the headquarters of the Parish Council of Ajuda it is just over 7 km (about 25 minutes by car). route), via Avenida 24 de Julho.

+ Information

• Postcode: 1300-012 Lisbon
• Address/Address: Calçada Ajuda 236
• Telephone: 213 616 110
• Official Link: JF da Ajuda
• Social networks: www.facebook.com/ajuda.juntadefreguesia/ , Instagram: @ajuda_freguesia
• Contact by email: geral@jf-ajuda.ptp
• Opening hours:
  From 9:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00, from Monday to Friday.

Ajuda Parish Guide

To find out more about Ajuda, check out our Ajuda Parish Guide!

Lisbon Region

For those who stay a little longer, discovering the surroundings and the Greater Lisbon also, it is an unmissable program.