25 Interesting Facts about Portugal

Article -> May 15, 2024

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You probably already have a clear-cut picture of Portugal, right? Walking through Lisbon’s hills, or maybe catching the famous yellow trams with a custard tart in hand, while a singer melancholically sings a Fado song on the corner.

Maybe you’re admiring the Douro River atop the Luís I Bridge, getting ready to hop on a boat tour that will take you to an amazing Port wine experience in the Douro Valley. Perhaps, you’re lounging on the Algarve’s sunny beaches with the waves softly lapping at the shore.

While this is an extremely valid image of Portugal, it won’t surprise anyone if they ask you about Portugal. Whether you’re looking to know more about Portugal, sharpening up your knowledge before moving, or even just looking for random topics or interesting facts about Portugal to make small talk with the Portuguese locals or to share with your friends and family, you have come to the right place.

Here is Portugal Homes’ list of interesting facts about Portugal:

1. Portugal became a Country because of a Disagreement between Mother and Son

There is more to the story than just the title, but that is how Portugal, essentially, came to exist. Before becoming sovereign, Portugal was a vassal county under the Kingdom of León and Castille (which would later become parts of Spain). Upon the death of Henry, the Count of Portugal, his wife, Theresa, took control of the County on behalf of Henry’s son and successor, Afonso. As the fervour for independence from León and Castille grew, Theresa allied herself with Galician forces to wrestle control and obtain sovereignty.

However, Teresa’s son, Afonso Henriques, disagreed with his mother on her alliances with Galicia, fearing Portugal would fall under their control. With the future of the county of Portugal at hand, Afonso’s military forces clashed against his mother, Theresa’s in 1128, in the Battle of São Mamede - what many deem to be the catalytic event that would lead to Portugal’s independence in 1143 when León and Castille officially recognised Portugal as an independent state, and Afonso Henriques became the first King of Portugal.

1. Portugal became a Country because of a Disagreement between Mother and Son

6. You Can Visit a Serial Killer’s Head in Portugal

No, that is not a typo. Ever fancied just seeing a head detached from a body? You can in Portugal. Criminal documentary aficionados will especially love this one. In the 19th century, Portugal had its own Jack the Ripper, a serial killer by the name of Diogo Alves, who terrorised the streets of Lisbon and is believed to have killed more than 100 people. Diogo Alves preferred modus operandi involved throwing people off the Lisbon Aqueduct, a fall of more than 200 feet. He would later on be caught and sentenced to death by hanging – one of the last in Portugal.

The truly fascinating part is that, in the name of science and medicine, his body was handed over to researchers who placed his head in formaldehyde with the intent to investigate what could possibly lead someone to commit such atrocities. His head has been preserved for almost 200 years. You can contemplate the look of the serial killer by visiting the Teatro Anatómico, which is part of the Lisbon University’s School of Medicine.

7. A Dead Woman Once Became Queen of Portugal

Have you ever loved someone so dearly that after their death you exhumed their body and forced your subjects to recognise the corpse as their Queen, to respect her in death unlike they did in life? All right – fine, this is disputed as “fact,” as there is no evidence this event actually occurred, but it has been largely popularised and enshrined in Portuguese culture and mythology due to various paintings and stories surrounding this tragic story.

However, King Pedro I of Portugal did have an intense love affair with a Galician noblewoman, Inês de Castro, who was assassinated by killers sent by Pedro’s own father, Afonso IV of Portugal. While the fateful episode is contested from taking place, and just existing in the Portuguese imaginarium, Inês de Castro was posthumously declared as Queen of Portugal by Pedro I of Portugal, since he confirmed they had wedded in a secret ceremony. Quinta das Lágrimas, in Coimbra, in the central region of Portugal, is heavily associated with the story and worth the visit.

8. Portugal has Remarkably Long and Small Bridges

Portugal sports one of Europe’s longest bridges – the Vasco da Gama bridge – at over 40,000 feet, and the longest in the European Union. This bridge spans the entirety of the Tagus River, connecting Lisbon’s eastern side – Parque das Nações - with the Setúbal district. Its construction started in 1995 and was completed in 1998, just in time for the 98’ World Expo Fair.

Coincidentally, the smallest international bridge can also be found in Portugal. Half of it, anyway. Located in Esperança, in the deep heart of the Alentejo region, this bridge of a little over 10 feet connects both Portugal and Spain.

11. Portuguese is the Official Language in 9 Countries

Considering Portugal’s expansive colonial reach, it may or may not be surprising to learn the fact that Portuguese is one of most spoken languages in the world, and the officially recognised language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, Mozambique, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.

Current estimates place Portuguese as one of the most spoken languages in the world, with 250 to 255 million speakers, both native and as a second language. Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, alone carries out most of this number, making Portuguese the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere with 215 million native speakers.

12. Portugal played an Important Role in the Independence of the United States – Sort Of

One of the most pivotal moments in U.S. history was the Declaration of Independence, signed during the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. But what if we told you Portugal was there? Or rather, Portuguese wine was. After signing, the Founding Fathers celebrated the monumental event with wine from Madeira.

Portugal may be better known for its Port wine, but Madeira wine was the predilect choice between them, to the point that it became somewhat of a tradition that Madeira wine was the drink of choice in celebration of other key events, like the signing of the Constitution and the Louisiana Purchase.

13. Portugal? More like Cork-ugal

If you own anything that is made from cork, chances are it probably came from Portugal. This small southern European country is responsible for over 60% of the world’s production of cork – its forest spans roughly about 2 million acres, more than one third of the total cork trees in the world. Isn’t that fascinating?

The abundance of cork from Portugal has inspired many creatives, including a whole new approach to artistry, with portraits of people and landscapes made with cork. You can find anything made from cork in Portugal – even shoes and wallets. Portuguese cork is also in outer space, with it being supplied as an insulation material for the European Space Agency.

14. Portugal has Two National Languages

If you think Portuguese is the only language in Portugal, you’d be both wrong and right. Portuguese is the country’s only official language, and if you ask most Portuguese people, they’d tell you the same thing. However, there is a Portuguese dialect that is distinct enough to be considered its own language.

Mirandês has its own syntax, morphology and phonology, and can be described as a mix of Portuguese and Galician. Mirandês is not officially recognised, but it is considered a national language that is duly protected by the Institute of the Mirandese Language. However, don’t bother learning it. It’s virtually a dead language, with a small percentage of speakers – around 15,000, mostly from older generations, and in only a few secluded northern regions of Portugal. Despite the cultural recognition, Mirandês doesn’t have any actual real impact in Portugal.

15. The Portuguese Pavement - Calçada Portuguesa – exists because of a Rhino

If you take a closer look at the imposing Belém Tower, you will find some peculiar details, like, for instance, a rhino facing the Tagus River. This is no random decoration – that Rhino has a name, and it is called Ganga. During the Age of Discovery, Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese Viceroy in India, wanted to build a fortress in Diu. He asked King Modofar for his permission, who refused, but since he appreciated the request, he gifted Afonso and the Kingdom of Portugal a Rhino – Ganga.

When Ganga arrived at Portuguese territory, it drew an astounding amount of attention, becoming quite a unique attraction of its own – it had been the first time since a rhino had been in European territory since the 3rd century.

King Manuel I, who wanted to parade Ganga in a celebration for his birthday, quickly realised it would further dirty the streets, since the January rains did not forgive, and the Lisbon streets became extremely muddy. To avoid all this, the King ordered the first streets to be paved to prevent Ganga from causing a mess.

Almost 300 years later, the first orders to start to fully pave Lisbon would be carried out – and the iconic Portuguese imagery would never be the same had it not been for a rhino in the 16th century.