Seven Wonders of Portugal and the World
7 years ago to the day, on the 7th of July (the 7th month) in 2007 the 7 Wonders of Portugal and the NEW 7 Wonders of the World were announced. There are many Wonders of the World but officially there are only 7. Seven is the magic number and Portugal is no different with a list of national cultural wonders named The Seven Wonders of Portugal.
On July 7th 2007 and after a six month long public election to select the top seven wonders of Portugal (votes could be cast by internet, phone or SMS) the results were announced at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
From the initial 793 proposed monumental candidates, in the first round a board of experts reduced the number to 77 and then further reduced it to 21 finalists.
The Seven Wonders of Portugal are:
- Castle of Guimarães, 10th century – Guimarães, Braga
- Óbidos Castle, 1195 – Óbidos, Leiria
- Batalha Monastery, 1385 – Batalha, Leiria
- Alcobaça Monastery, 1153 – Alcobaça, Leiria
- Jerónimos Monastery, 1502 – Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon
- Pena National Palace, 1838 – Sintra, Lisbon
- Belém Tower, 1521 – Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon
The Seven Wonders of Portugal announcement was held just before the global New Seven Wonders of the World contest, organized by the New7Wonders Foundation, which was celebrated on the same day and in the same place on July 7th, 2007 in Lisbon.
The New7Wonders Foundation was established in 2001 with the initiative to choose the New 7 Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing World monuments. When the 21 finalists were finally announced the Egyptians were upset that the only surviving original wonder of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World, their Great Pyramid of Giza, would have to compete with “new kids on the block” like the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. In response, Giza was named as an honorary Candidate and the Giza Necropolis in Egypt 2589 BC, was granted an honorary title.
The NEW Seven Wonders of the World elected by more than 100 million votes
- Great Wall of China – 700 BC – China
- Petra – 312 BC – Ma’an Governorate, Jordan
- Colosseum – 70 – Rome, Italy
- Chichen Itza – 600 – Yucatan, Mexico
- Machu Picchu – 1438 – Cuzco, Peru
- Taj Mahal – 1632 – Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Christ the Redeemer –1926 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Still Wonders of the World, even though not under the “7” title, some of the finalists included: the Acropolis of Athens 447 BC, the Alhambra in Granada 1333, the Eiffel Tower in Paris 1887, Stonehenge in the UK 2400 BC, Moscow’s Red Square 1561, New York’s Statue of Liberty 1886 and Sydney’s Opera House 1959.
The ORIGINAL Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were:
- Great Pyramid of Giza
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
- Statue of Zeus at Olympia
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- Colossus of Rhodes
- Lighthouse of Alexandria
In 2007 The New7Wonders Foundation launched the New7Wonders of Nature, which was the subject of voting until 11 November 2011 and is a list of natural wonders and includes:
- The Amazon Rainforest and River
- Ha Long Bay – Vietnam
- Iguazu Falls – Argentina and Brazil
- Jeju Island – South Korea
- Komodo National Park – Indonesia
- The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park – Philippines
- Table Mountain – South Africa
The current project of the New 7 Foundation is the New7Wonders Cities, with the results due to be announced in December 2014.
Discover the Wonders of Portugal on a Private Food, Wine and Cultural Private Tour of Portugal with a chance to visit the delights of Lisbon as well as the National Pena Palace in Sintra.
