Lisbon - Baixa

Baixa is regarded as the real center of Lisbon. It lies in a hollow between Bairro Alto and Chiado in the west and the opposite quarter which rises up to Castelo de Sao Jorge.

During the time when the Lisbon area was first settled the whole of Baixa remained flooded with water from the Tagus; up at Rossio two tributaries of the Tagus converged.

Present day Baixa is particularly noteworthy as an urban development area. This part of Lisbon was completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. Afterwards town planners were faced with alternatives typical of such a situation; either to reconstruct the quarter exactly as it was before or to create a completely new structure. Moving the center of the city towards Belém was also discussed at this time. Minister Josés I, the Marques de Pombal, assumed leadership of the reconstruction. Pombal is considered the forerunner of Benevolent Despotism in Portugal; rational and functional planning were essential parts of his political thought. The controversial minister decided on a completely new remodeling based on a plan which would give the new quarter a strongly geometric, easily comprehensible structure, corresponding to his understanding of the world. This concept was ahead of its time and foresaw a "chess board layout" of the streets as they had been constructed in Greek cities in the fifth C. B.C.

The Praça do Comércio on the river bank was linked to the more northerly Rossio and the Praça da Figueira by means of right angled streets dissecting a long field. The grid like area of Baixa thus stands in stark contrast to the neighboring quarters of the old city with their twisting and confused streets and alleyways.

The main three architects who were involved in the construction of the so called Pombal lower city were Manuel de Maia, who had made a name for himself through the building of the aqueduct, Eugénio dos Santos and the Hungerian Carlos Mardel.

One criterion was of prime importance: houses were to be built that would stand less danger of collapse during an earthquake. For this reason buildings were to be no more than two stories high. This was economically unrealistic for future owners of properties in such a central position. Finally a half timbered construction was developed, whose stability and elasticity permitted buildings of up to a maximum of five stories.

Characteristic of the construction of the lower part of the city was the standardized uniformity in its appearance. Height, roof shape and size of windows of the new houses were originally the same. Many new buildings have since been constructed in a divergent form so that the Pombal concept no longer appears so obvious. Recently attempts have been made during renovation to preserve at least the facades of the many extremely dilapidated buildings.

The quarter between Rossio and the Praça do Comércio is today above all a quarter of shops and banks. The roads running from north to south were each originally assigned to a specific craft guild or profession. Road names such as Rua dos Douradores (Gilders' Street), Rua dos Sapateiros (Shoemakers' Street) or Rua Aurea (also known as Rua do Ouro) and Rua da Prata (gold and silversmiths) provide continuing evidence of this. In the wider main streets, Rua Aurea and Rua da Prata, and in the now pedestrianized Rua Augusta (whose mosaic design was resurfaced in 1989) mostly larger, very elegant shops prevail today. In the narrow side streets, however, simpler shops and workshops are still to be found.

During the day Baixa is very lively but after the shops have closed it appears deserted and dead; few restaurants or cafes remain open at this time of day.