Rachael Jacobs, age 14, of Casper, Wyo., for her question:
HOW OLD IS LISBON, PORTUGAL?
Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. Its history goes back to ancient days. It was most likely founded by the Phoenicians as a trading place. Later, about 200 B.C., it became a Roman municipality.
In the early Middle Ages the city was occupied by the Visigoths and later by the Moors. Alfonse I reconquered the city from the Moors in 1147 and during the next few hundred years Lisbon developed as the capital of the kingdom and as a trading center.
Lisbon declined in importance during a period of Spanish occupation from 1580 until 1640, but regained its prosperity after the Peace of Lisbon was signed in 1668.
On Nov. 1, 1755, an earthquake destroyed two thirds of Lisbon and killed more than 60,000 people.
During the late 1800s, Lisbon became a center of the unrest that was widespread throughout Portugal. This unrest continued after the establishment of the republic in 1910. But then things settled down and the city again became a center of international political and diplomatic activity during World War II because it was a neutral capital.
Lisbon has a city population of about 1 million and an area population of about 2 million. Its name in Portuguese and Spanish is Lisboa.
The city of Lisbon is located on one of the world's finest harbors. It lies on Portugal's west coast about seven miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The city overlooks a broad bay formed by the estuary of the Tagus River.
One of Europe's longest bridges crosses over the Tagus River in Lisbon. It is called the 25th of April Bridge and it is 3,323 feet long.
Lisbon is divided into five barrios or sections. The oldest is named Lisboa Oriental and streets here are crooked and crowded. Some beautiful, old buildings are found in this area.
Cidade Baix, Lisboa Occidental, Alcantara and Belem are the other four sections of Lisbon. They have broad, tree lined avenues, wide plazas and beautiful public buildings.
Lisbon's harbor is the main point of export for Portugal's salt, canned sardines and tuna, olive oil and wine. At the harbor there is also a series of shipyards, a naval arsenal and tobacco, food, ceramic, textile and metalworking industries.
Lisbon is the home of the University of Lisbon, which was founded in 1911. There also is a Higher Technical Institute, which was established in 1930. Training schools for the army and navy are also in the city.
Many museums are located in the city. There is an ethnographical and colonial museum, an art museum, a modern art museum and an archaeological museum.
The largest book collection in the country can be found in Lisbon's Biblioteca National de Lisboa, which was founded in 1796.
Lisbon is built on a series of hills. There is a famous elevator there that carries people from one of the lower levels of the city to a series of higher levels.