Planning to visit Lisbon and explore the cheerful Portuguese capital? If yes, then you might already have some idea of which places to visit, which restaurants to dine in, which hotel to stay in and what to during your stay. As a capital city, sunny and lively Lisbon offers over 200 popular attractions, which vary greatly but they all will definitely amaze you.
The district of Baixa is known to every person visiting Lisbon. It’s the heart of the city where Comercio Square, Rossio Square and Santa Justa Elevator can be found. Avenida da Liberdade is within easy reach from the district, which means that some of the most popular Lisbon places of interest are located along a chain that stretches from Baixa, continues to Avenida da Liberdade and takes you to somewhere else depending on in which direction you would like to go.
Baixa is the district where one of the nicest Portuguese churches is located, Igreja de Sao Domingos (Saint Domingos Church). This church has suffered a great deal throughout its existence. In the place of the present day church there used to be a convent dating back to the 13th century. It means that it was as old as the Lisbon Cathedral, of course, the latter is much older. It was later converted to a church, and for at least three times went through natural disasters.
The years 1531 (earthquake), 1755 (earthquake) and 1950 (great fire) proved to be really harsh for the church. It should be said that the earthquake of 1755 was disastrous not only for the church but also the entire district of Baixa, which was razed to the ground. But gladly, today both the district and the church exist and keep on blooming. As to the fire, it “swallowed” much of the interior decoration of the church, including a great number of valuable paintings. The traces of this fire can be noticed even today.
As you look at the church, you see that it features ancient architecture with some modern solutions. The atmosphere in the church is so relaxing and relieving. Perhaps it has to do with the church’s orange and dark walls. The most impressive part of the church is its high altar with red marble columns. Notably, the church is quite popular with the African immigrants since it has had a black priest who helped them to adapt to the new Portuguese environment and lifestyle.
The church is open every day from 7.30 am to 7 pm, and irrespective of the beliefs you have, it’s worth to go through the welcoming doors of this spiritual site and read the history “written” on its suffered walls.
