Leiria
—  Municipality  —
Flag Coat of arms
Leiria Location in Portugal
Coordinates: 39°46′N 8°53′W / 39.767°N 8.883°W / 39.767; -8.883Coordinates: 39°46′N 8°53′W / 39.767°N 8.883°W / 39.767; -8.883
Country	Portugal
Region	Centro Region
Subregion	Pinhal Litoral Subregion
District/A.R.	Leiria
Government
• Mayor	Rául Castro (PSD)
Area
• Total	565 km2 (218 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	126,879
• Density	228/km2 (590/sq mi)
Parishes (no.)	29
Municipal holiday	22 May
Website	http://www.cm-leiria.pt

Leiria (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐjˈɾi.ɐ]) is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 130,000. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.

History [edit]

The region around Leiria has been inhabited for a long time, although its early history is very obscure. The Turduli, an indigenous people from Iberia, established a settlement near (around 7 km) present-day Leiria. This settlement was later occupied by the Romans, who expanded it under the name Collippo. The stones of the ancient Roman town were used in the Middle Ages to build much of Leiria.

Leiria and its Castle.

Little is known about the area in Visigothic times, but during the period of Arab domination Leiria was already a village with a garrison. Moorish Leiria was captured by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques in 1135, during the so-called Reconquista. The settlement was shortly retaken by the Moors in 1137 and then in 1140. In 1142 Afonso Henriques reconquered Leiria, dating from this year its first foral (compilation of feudal rights) to stimulate the colonisation of the area.

Main square and Leiria Castle uphill.

Both Afonso Henriques and Sancho I rebuilt the walls and the Leiria Castle to avoid new Moorish incursions. Most of the population lived inside the protective city walls, but already in the 12th century part of the population lived outside the walls. The oldest church of Leiria, the Church of Saint Peter (Igreja de São Pedro), built in romanesque style in the last quarter of the 12th century, served the parish located outside the walls.

During the Middle Ages the importance of the village increased, and it was the setting of several cortes (feudal parliaments). The first of the cortes held in Leiria took place in 1245, under King Afonso II. In the early 14th century, King Dinis I restored the keep tower of the citadel of the castle, as can be seen in an inscription in the tower. He also built a royal residence in Leiria (now lost), and lived for long periods in the town, which he donated as feud to his wife, Isabel. The King also ordered the plantation of the famous Pine Forest of Leiria (Pinhal de Leiria) near the coast. Later, the wood from this forest would be used to build the ships used in the Portuguese Navigations of the 15th and 16th centuries.

In the late 15th century, King John I built a royal palace within the walls of the castle of Leiria. This palace, with elegant gothic galleries that offered wonderful views of the town and surrounding landscape, was totally in ruins but was partially rebuilt in the 20th century. John I also sponsored the rebuilding in late gothic style of the old Church of Our Lady of the Rock (Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Pena), located inside the castle.

Leiria Castle.

Towards the end of the 15th century the town continued to grow, occupying the area from the castle hill down to the river Lis. King Manuel I gave it a new foral in 1510, and in 1545 it was elevated to the category of city and became see of a Diocese. The Cathedral of Leiria was built in the second half of the 16th century in a mix of late manueline and mannerist styles.

Compared to the Middle Ages, the subsequent history of Leiria is of relative decadence. In the 20th century, however, its strategic position in the Portuguese territory favoured the development of a diversified industry.

Geography and location [edit]

Leiria is located in the Centro Region and sub region of Pinhal Litoral, about halfway between Lisbon and Porto. The distance to Lisbon is 135 km, to Coimbra 72 km and to Porto 179 km. The historic city centre spreads between the castle hill and the river Lis.

Leiria is also included in the Urban Community of Leiria. As the main city in this community, the area of influence of Leiria spreads over the cities of Marinha Grande, Ourém, Alcobaça, Fátima, Pombal as well the municipalities/town seats of Batalha, Porto de Mós and Nazaré located nearby.

Demographics [edit]

^[1]

Climate [edit]

The city of Leiria is located near the western coast, in the central region of Portugal, with a Mediterranean climate (Csa) with oceanic influence. So has cool winters and humid, relying on average 40 days of rain (330 mm) versus 50 dry days and 5 hours of sun per day. The average temperatures range between 15 °C (59 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) and can lower the minimum at 0 °C (32 °F) colder days, favoring the onset of frost or ice. The springs are quite nice, being very rainy month of April. This station has an average of 43 days of rain 273 mm (11 in) to 47 dry days and 7 hours of sunshine per day. The average temperatures range between 20 °C (68 °F) and 11 °C (52 °F). The summers bring high temperatures and sunshine, counting on average 18 days of rain 77 mm (3 in) compared with 82 dry days and 9 hours of sunshine per day. Average temperatures range between 27 °C (81 °F) and 15 °C (59 °F), the maximum can reach 35 °C (95 °F) on the hottest days. Since the autumn, although mild, sometimes plague the city with rain and wind and have on average 39 days of rain 339 mm (13 in) compared to 51 dry days and 6 hours of sun per day. Average temperatures range between 21 °C (70 °F) and 12 °C (54 °F).

The snowfall in the city of Leiria typically occur once every 20 to 30 years, increasingly prone to happen in cold weather due to climate change. The last time I was snowed in Leiria on 29 January 2006 in a clammy am Sunday between 10 h and 12 h, during which the temperature peaked at −1 °C (30 °F).

Culture [edit]

As well as being a site of historical interest, the Castle of Leiria provides a venue for cultural events . Situated close to the castle, the Church of Saint Peter (Igreja de São Pedro) is used as the venue of Leiria's annual festival of music. Leiria is also home to m|i|mo [1], Portugal's only Museum of the Moving Image and the Paper museum [2] (Museu do moinho do papel) situated at the site of Portugal's first paper mill. The Theatre Miguel Franco in the market Sant'Ana (Mercado de Sant'Ana) and The Theatre José Lúcio da Silva [3] are venues for theatre, music and dance performances, as well as cinema.

The city is the birthplace of several leading Portuguese poets, such as Afonso Lopes Vieira and Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, after whom the central square is named. Today the square is home to a thriving café culture, as well as being regularly used for cultural events. Other poetes: The King D.Dinis (Denis of Portugal) and the writer Eça de Queiroz who wrote his first realist novel, O Crime do Padre Amaro ("The Sin of Father Amaro"), which is set in the city and was first published in 1875. There are also Film and TV adaptations.^[2]

The city has several cultural associations and bookshops who give presentations of cultural and artistic projects, with Bookshop Arquivo and Cultural Association Célula Membrana offering the busiest calendar of events.

In recent years, Leiria has seen much re-development to the banks of the river Liz . These developments have created several new parks, public spaces, children's play areas and a series of themed bridges. Additionally, a long promenade has been created which is popular with both walkers and joggers.

There are several summer Festivals held in the region. The town hosts a monthly antiques market.

Panorama of Leiria.

Economy [edit]

Leiria has an economy concentrated on services and light industries. It has several industries related with plastics and moulds, as well as animal food, milling, cement, and civil construction, among other light industries. Agriculture, tourism, and state-run public services, such as education (including the Polytechnical Institute of Leiria), health (the district hospital Hospital de Santo André^[3]) and general public administration, are an important part of Leiria's economy.

Monte Real Air Base, a major Military airbase of the Portuguese Air Force in Monte Real, where all Portuguese F16 fighter squadrons are stationed, is also notable employer in the region.^[4]

Gothic gallery in the Castle of Leiria.

Transport [edit]

Leiria is connected to its suburbs and the rest of Portugal by a motorway network. There are four motorways passing the city;

• A1 - Auto-estrada do Norte linking Porto to Lisbon, passing by Leiria.
• A8 linking Leiria to Lisbon.
• A17 linking Marinha Grande to Aveiro.
• A19, linking Leiria and Batalha, using part of the IC2.

There is a railway Linha do Oeste (west railway line linking Cacém (Sintra/Lisbon area) to Figueira da Foz) which serves the central western coast of Portugal. Leiria railway station is a few km from the city centre (about 2 km).

The main bus station service is in the city centre. Two bus loops, called Mobilis, serve the town.

There is a small airfield (Aérodromo de Leiria), used for sports and recreation.

Leiria-based newspapers [edit]

• Região de Leiria – Weekly
• Jornal de Leiria – Weekly
• Diário de Leiria – Daily
• O Mensageiro – Monthly

Education [edit]

Leiria hosts a national public polytechnic institution of higher education, the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria^[5] which has 5 Campus, 3 of them located in Leiria.

• Campus 1 - School of Education and Social Sciences (ESECS).
• Campus 2 - School of Technology and Management (ESTG) and the School Of Health Sciences (ESS)
• Campus 5 - Institute for Research, Development and Advanced Studies (INDEA), the Training Centre for the Courses of Technology Specialization (FOR.CET) with around 900 students, the Centre of New Opportunities (CNO), a Transfer Technology and Information Center (OTIC) and an E-Learning Unit (UED).

There is also an private institution, o Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração (ISLA).^[6]

In Secondary education, Leiria has the following schools, the first two in the center, the last in the outskirts.

• Escola Secundária de Francisco Rodrigues Lobo (former Liceu) ^[7]
• Escola Secundária de Domingos Sequeira (former Escola Comercial) ^[8]
• Escola Secundária de Afonso Lopes Vieira, in Gândara dos Olivais, Marrazes.^[9]

In Primary education, Leiria has the following schools, teaching from the 5th grade until 9th grade.

• Escola D. Dinis ^[10]
• Escola Correia Mateus (with 1st cycle) ^[11]
• Escola José Saraiva ^[12]
• Escola de Marrazes ^[13]
• Colégio Dinis de Melo ^[14]
• Colégio Senhor dos Milagres ^[15]

Besides this there are multiple schools in the Municipality for the 1st cycle, from 1st grade until 4th grade.

Sport [edit]

Stadium Dr. Magalhães Pessoa.

The city of Leiria has its own football (soccer) team, the União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly called just União de Leiria. It currently plays at the third layer of Portuguese football, in the Portuguese Second Division.

An important facility is the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, situated close to Leiria castle. The modern stadium has a capacity for 23,000 people and was built for the 2004 European Football Championship.

Efforts are being made to sell it, as it only brings a loss to the city which owns it. The main football team of Leiria, U.D. Leiria, no longer plays there due to high rents.

Football in Leiria is run by the Leiria Football Association.

Juve Lis also plays in the city, it's notable women's handball team in Portugal which plays in the Women's Handball League

International relations [edit]

Twin towns — Sister cities [edit]

Leiria is twinned with:

• Halton, United Kingdom
• São Paulo, Brazil^[16][17]
• Tokushima, Japan
• Maringá, Brazil^[18]

See also [edit]

Portugal portal

• Centro Region, Portugal

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leiria

• Municipality of Leiria
• Mobilis Municipal Bus (in Portuguese)
• Portal of Leiria (Business and Social Network)
• Photos from Leiria
• 2009 European Team Championships