Leiria

Sister cities

• São Paulo
• Rheine
• São Filipe
• Olivenza
• Halton
• Tongling
• Nampula
• Maringá
• Tokushima
• Saint-Maur-des-Fossés
• Setúbal

History

The region around Leiria has long been inhabited although its early history is uncertain. The first evident inhabitants were the Turduli Oppidani, a Celtici tribe (akin to the Lusitanians), who established a settlement near (around 7 km) present-day Leiria. This settlement was later occupied by the Romans, who expanded it under the original Celtiberian name Collippo. The stones of the ancient Roman town were used in the Middle Ages to build much of Leiria. The name "Leiria" in Portuguese derives from 'leira' (from the medieval Galician-Portuguese form 'laria', from proto-Celtic *ɸlār-yo-, akin to English 'floor(ing)', Old Irish 'làr' 'ground, floor', Breton 'leur' 'ground', Welsh 'llawr' 'floor') meaning an area with small farming plots. It was occupied by the Suebi in 414 until they were forced by the Romans to retreat to Galicia and later incorporated by Leovigild into the Visigoths kingdom in 585 A.D. Later the Moors occupied the area until it was re-captured by the first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques in 1135, during the Reconquista. South of Leiria in that period was the so-called no-man's land, until regions further south (like Santarém and Lisbon) were permanently taken and re-populated by the Christians. In 1142 King Afonso Henriques gave Leiria its first foral (compilation of feudal rights) to stimulate the colonisation of the region. Both Afonso I of Portugal and Sancho I rebuilt the walls and the Leiria Castle to avoid new enemy 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…

Geography

Leiria is located in western Central Portugal. The municipality borders the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest, Marinha Grande to the west, Alcobaça to the southwest, Batalha to the south, Ourém to the southeast, and Pombal to the north and northeast. The city is located about halfway between Lisbon and Porto. The distance to Lisbon is , to Coimbra and to Porto . The historic city centre spreads between the castle hill and the river Lis. Leiria is also the seat of its own sub-region, Região de Leiria, which includes the cities of Marinha Grande, Pombal as well the municipalities/town seats of Batalha, Alcobaça and Porto de Mós located nearby. The city of Leiria has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Its location near the Atlantic coast keeps temperature variation relatively minimal. The average annual temperature is around , varying between in January, to in August. Winters are mild and wet. On average, around 50% of the days receive some form of precipitation in this season. Average temperatures range between during the day and at night and can go below on colder days, with an average of 15 days with frost per year. Springs are pleasant, but usually rainy during the month of April. This season, though wet, is slightly drier than winter, with the majority of days receiving no precipitation. Average temperatures range between at day and at night. Summers bring high temperatures and sunshine. Precipitation, when present, mostly occurs in the form of drizzle, and accounts for only around 20% of days between June and September. Sunshine hours reach their maximum in August (which is sunny 70% of the time). Average temperatures range between at day and at night, the maximum can exceed on hotter days. Autumn,…

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,053
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,030
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  883
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  813
• European Greenfinch

  Chloris chloris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  742
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  704
• Eurasian Blackcap

  Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  703
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  691

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2026-02-19
  4 km ENE of Sobral de Monte Agraço, Portugal
• M 2.6 — 2020-04-19
  11 km ENE of Pombal, Portugal
• M 4.2 — 2017-08-17
  5 km N of Arruda dos Vinhos, Portugal
• M 3.6 — 2017-02-01
  4 km WSW of Porto de Mós, Portugal
• M 2.8 — 2013-09-01
  5 km SSE of Benavente, Portugal
• M 3 — 2007-08-27
  4 km WNW of Rio Maior, Portugal