Cathedral

Se Cathedral is the oldest church in Lisbon, which has long become a real symbol, decoration and pride of the inhabitants of the capital of Portugal. Until now, the cathedral has been preserved almost in its original form, with minor alterations that did not affect the appearance of the building.

According to one hypothesis, the predecessor of the modern cathedral was a Roman temple, which after the conquest by the Visigoths in the IV-V centuries was turned into a Christian church. Then, when the Iberian Peninsula came under Arab expansion, the church was destroyed and a mosque was erected in its place. The building lasted until 1147, when Christian knights liberated the city. And by 1150, on the foundations of the destroyed mosque, a grandiose cathedral was erected, its appearance resembling, rather, an impregnable fortress.

During the famous devastating earthquake of 1755, the cathedral suffered but was not destroyed, and was soon restored. In the decoration of the cathedral appeared decorative elements in the style of baroque, rococo and neoclassicism. Today, the Lisbon Cathedral is a monumental building with three portals, a transept, a main chapel and two towers framing the main facade.