Alcântara, Lisbon, Portugal

Belongs to the western zone of the capital.

Its name cames from the Arabic al-qantara, which means "bridge". This was the name of the bridge that crossed the stream in this area, which ended up being called the river of Alcântara.

From early on, in the territory that today forms the parish of Alcântara appeared signs of human occupation. Some chipped stone tools were found on the banks of the Alcântara stream dating from the Palaeolithic era.

On 25 August 1580, the Battle of Alcantara took place between the troops of Antonio, Prior of Crato and those of Philip II of Spain.

In the first half of the nineteenth century there were some important events in Alcântara. One of them was the stay of General Junot in 1807 during the French Invasions.

In 1864, the Lisbon Carriages Company started to operate in here. The Americans arrived in 1870. In 1901, the construction of the tram line between Terreiro do Paço and Algés. The railroads also began to serve the parish (1887), and the section between Sintra and Alcântara-Terra was first created. The last one was extended, in 1891, to Alcântara-Mar, thus connecting to Cascais.

Alcantara was, at the beginning of the 20th century, one of the main republican neighborhoods that conspired against the monarchy and plans were made to establish a republic. After the Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the strikes succeeded one after the other because of great social conflicts. Alcântara, already during the Salazarist Dictatorship, continued to harbor revolutionary groups, repressed by the Regime.

The construction of the April 25 Bridge and the respective access roads forced some residents to move. They were rehoused in the Clock Quarter. In recent years it has been a decrease of the resident population much because of the aging of the inhabitants and also because of the displacement to the periphery of the city.