Lisbon - Praça Marques de Pombal

At its northern end the Avenida da Liberdade opens onto one of Lisbon's busiest squares, the Praça Marques de Pombal, usually known for short as the Rotunda. The only interchange station in Lisbon's metro system below the traffic junction bears the same name. The square can be crossed by pedestrians by means of an underpass and in this way the Parque Eduardo VII, which borders the square to the north, and the monument in the center of the roundabout can be relatively easily reached.

Lisbon's coat of arms has been carefully depicted as a mosaic picture in the cobbled square in front of the colonaded statue. Shortly after the construction of the Avenida da Liberdade the present position had been determined for the erection of a memorial to the Marques de Pombal, José I's minister, who was chiefly responsible for the reconstruction of the city which had been destroyed by the earthquake - at least about 100 years after the Avenida da Liberdade was created. In 1913 an open competition to build the memorial was finally announced, the first stone was laid four years later and the second in 1926. A further eight years passed before the statue was finally officially opened in 1934. The 9m/30ft tall statue of the Marques de Pombal, accompanied by a lion, stands on a 36m/118ft high pillar. The gaze of the ambitious and controversial politician is directed on to the lower city (Baixa) created by him. Depicted on the pedestal are agricultural and educational scenes - areas where the minister carried out extensive reforms. Below the pedestal an allegory of the earthquake with shattered stone cubes and overflowing waves from the Tagus can be seen. The people sitting at the back of the statue embody the reformed Coimbra University.