San bento football club. Sights of Porto. Sao Bento railway station. Surroundings of Sao Bento Palace

01. The first train arrived at Sao Bento Station on November 7, 1896. At that time, the station consisted of three wooden hangars, serving both passengers and owners of numerous cargoes, as a storage facility. I must say that it was certainly far from Lisbon, who by this time had not one, but two whole stations, one of which Santa Apolonia had been serving passengers for more than 30 years. And as it happens between two large cities of the country, whether it be Moscow and St. Petersburg, or Lisbon and Porto, competition drove progress. Four years later, the first stone was laid in the foundation of a new stone palace building, Sao Bento Station. Sixteen years later, the magnificent building appeared in all its beauty.

02. There is something to see! 551 square meters of the famous Portuguese tiles (azulejos) not only decorate the building, but also tell about significant events in the country's history.

04. If you look closely, you can see scenes from the everyday life of the Portuguese peasants,

06. not devoid of drama...

07. Majestic scenes of loyalty to one's word, the famous fighter for the independence of Portugal, knight Egas Moniz.

08. All this beauty belongs to the pen of the famous Portuguese artist Jorge Kulas.

11. And here is Henry the Navigator himself, who led the battle of Ceuta (August 14, 1415) in Morocco. This event is associated with the beginning of the era of European expansion on the world stage.

12. View, photograph and read a brief history of the depicted paintings on the phone. Comfortable.

13. However, back to the present.

14. São Bento Station serves mainly local, suburban destinations: Braga, Aveiro, Douro and other cities located mainly around Porto at a distance not exceeding 60 km. Trains run to Lisbon from another Porto station, Campanhã. But that's a completely different story.

15. The destinations are served by modern electric trains of the UME-3400 series, built at the enterprises of the Siemens TS / Bombardier alliance, especially for the state-owned railway company Comboios de Portugal (CP).

16. It was not an easy decision to build a railway station in the very center of the city, which is under 1000 years old.

17. In 1968, the station with adjacent buildings and tracks was seriously reconstructed. There were new premises for passengers, a restaurant, all the tracks were electrified.

22. When you are in Porto, take a look, an interesting place.

23. However, time is running out, how much more interesting and informative this amazing city of Porto is fraught with!

Aren't you tired of Porto yet?) I would like to tell you more about the most beautiful area of ​​the city - the Dora river embankment, and about the most comfortable metro on the planet.
Two weeks ago I was in Rome, yesterday I returned from Budapest. Ahead of a lot of interesting things!

The Parliament of Portugal meets in São Bento Palace, originally built as a monastery for Benedictine monks. Behind the monumental neoclassical façade are magnificent rooms decorated with sculptures and paintings. In 1598 the Benedictines began building a new monastery to house their rapidly growing community. São Bento da Saude was designed as a large rectangular structure centered around four monasteries. In 1834, when religious orders were abolished, the government confiscated the property and placed the Parliament of Portugal here.

The building quickly adapted to its new function, but after a fire in 1895 it suffered significant damage. It was decided to carry out a major restoration and restore the building. The neoclassical design of the Ventura Terra was chosen, and in the following decades the original cloister was completely converted into a parliamentary building. Today, little remains of the classical 16th-century monastery, but one of the original four monasteries survives. However, it is one of the most prominent sights in Lisbon.

Exterior of Sao Bento Palace

The most impressive aspect of São Bento Palace is its monumental neoclassical façade. The large central portico has five porches surmounted by a balcony with thirteen Corinthian columns that support a thirty-metre-wide pediment. The reliefs on the tympanum were created by the Portuguese sculptor Simoas de Almeida. The central allegorical figure represents the homeland and is surrounded by eighteen different statues symbolizing the different foundations of society.

Two lions sculpted by Raul Xavier guard the wide staircase leading to the main entrance of the palace. In front of the entrance are four marble statues representing Foresight, Justice, Strength and Patience.

Interior of the Sao Bento Palace

Passing through the portico, you enter the main atrium, formerly located in the chapel. It is decorated with busts depicting prominent Portuguese parliamentarians. Passages on the left side lead to the main staircase of the palace, built between 1936 and 1937.

The largest and most luxurious halls in Sao Bento Palace are located on both sides of the atrium. These are the Senate and Parliamentary chambers. The Senate Chamber was built in 1867 by French architect Jean-Francois Colson. The semi-circular hall with a glass and iron skylight has two balconies supported by colossal columns. The Parliament Chamber opened in 1903 after the original hall was destroyed by fire in 1895. The semi-circular hall is decorated with large sculptures and a huge lute painted by Veloso Salgado.

Sao Bento Gardens

Behind the palace is the French-style garden of São Bento Palace, with geometrically arranged flower beds laid out on a terraced slope. The garden is decorated with fountains, niches and statues of sphinxes.

The Palace of the National Assembly, also called the Palace of the Cortes, is located in the center and is the seat of Parliament. Despite the current political status, the palace is open to tourist groups accompanied by guides. To visit it, you must pre-register on the official website.

The palace was built in the 17th century. for the wealthy Benedictine order. The architect Afonso Alvaris chose the Mannerist style characteristic of that time: he replaced the Renaissance and was popular in Europe until the appearance in the 18th century. baroque and rococo.

A strong earthquake, from which Portugal suffered in 1755, completely destroyed the building; during the reconstruction, classical details were added to it in the exterior decoration and interiors. The famous portico with columns and a wide staircase leading to the entrance to the palace appeared. In 1834, the possessions of the Benedictine monks, as a result of secularization, were transferred to the state, since then Sao Bento has been a government institution.

Halls of Sao Bento Palace

During the tour, tourists can see the most popular rooms of the palace:

Surroundings of Sao Bento Palace

There are also quite interesting places around the building that are worth seeing:

• the inner garden, which has been preserved since the time of the monks - they grew medicinal herbs there, with which they treated the sick;
• a classic mansion located in a Benedictine garden: the first head of government moved here in 1877, since then the building has been the permanent residence of all prime ministers of Portugal.
• the square in front of the São Bento Palace, where the demonstrations that preceded the Carnation Revolution of 1974 took place. Since then, it has been considered a traditional venue for any political action.

How to get to Sao Bento Palace?

The Palace of the Cortes is located in the center, next to it there is a stop, which is considered the main city. The best route to the palace is to take the famous tram to the Rua de Sao Bento stop, and walk 1 minute from there. on foot. In addition to tram 28, buses No. 706,727, 773 stop near the palace, the stop is called Palácio de São Bento.

Campanhã is a Portuguese parish, located in the city of Porto. The population in 2011 was 32,659, in an area of ​​8.04 km². Located there is the Campanhã station, the most important in Porto.- Wikipedia

Things to do in Campanha

• Livraria Lello

  The Lello Bookstore (Portuguese: Livraria Lello), also known as Livraria Lello & Irmão and Livraria Chardron, is a bookstore located in civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the northern Portuguese municipality of Porto .

• Estádio do Dragao

  The Estádio do Dragão is an all-seater football stadium located in Porto, Portugal, and the current home ground of Futebol Clube do Porto. It has a capacity of 50,033, making it the third largest football ground in Portugal.

• Serralves

  Serralves is a cultural institution located in Porto, Portugal, and one of the most important of all the country. It includes a Contemporary Art Museum, a Park and a Villa, each one an example of contemporary architecture, Modernism, and Art Deco architecture. The Museum, designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira, is now the most visited museum in Portugal (more than 300,000 visitors per year) and one of the most relevant in the contemporary art circuit in Europe.