Estrela Basilica
On the Estrela hilltop, the basilica of Queen Maria I’s vow, consecrated in 1789, with the queen’s tomb and Machado de Castro’s nativity scene.
Estrela Basilica – Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Estrela Basilica, dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, was born of a vow: in 1760, the then heir to the throne, Princess Maria, promised to build a church if she bore a son. Once queen, she kept her promise – work began in 1779, with the foundation stone laid on 24 October, and the basilica was consecrated on 15 November 1789, the first church in the world with this dedication. The design was entrusted to the architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira and, after his death in 1786, the work passed to Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos. The great dome and the two bell towers dominate the Estrela hilltop, and inside lies the tomb of Queen Maria I, entirely in white and black marble, made in 1789 by Faustino José Rodrigues, as well as that of her confessor. Another treasure is the nativity scene by Joaquim Machado de Castro and his workshop, from 1783, with some five hundred figures in cork and terracotta – the largest in Portugal. Listed as a National Monument, the basilica faces the Estrela Garden, beside the former convent the queen had built next to it, and opens every day, morning and afternoon.
Located at: Visit Lisboa
Address: Largo da Estrela, 1200-667 Lisboa
Opening hours: church open every day 08:45-13:00 and 15:00-20:00
Phone: +351 213 960 915
Coordinates: 38.7132508, -9.1605133
Buses: 713, 773, 774, 720, 738, 709
Tram: 28E, 25E
Metro: Rato (Yellow)
Opened: 1779 (247 years)
