Ajuda

Ajuda () is a freguesia (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Ajuda is located in western Lisbon, northeast of Belém and west of Alcântara. The population in 2011 was 15,617.

==History== thumb|left|View of Ajuda and Belém (Lisbon)|Belém in 1763. thumb|left|View down the Calçada da Ajuda which links Ajuda to Belém (Lisbon)|Belém. The parish of Ajuda, situated between the beach area of Belém and the foothills of the Monsanto was a place that was not conditioned for agriculture. A legend tells of a shepherd experienced an apparition of the Virgin Mary while passing the area. News of the event spread rapidly, and the area was visited by the faithful, many of whom settled there around a chapel built at the site of the vision. The small sanctuary was eventually replaced by a church, and the number of pilgrims grew to include members of the upper class and high nobility, who attended religious services. Queen Catherine of Austria, the consort of King John III of Portugal, eventually visited and prayed at the church, influencing members of the nobility to build residences in the area.