Oporto Old Bridges
The Dom Luís I Bridge, Ponte Luís I or Luiz I is a metal arch bridge that spans the Douro River between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. At the time of construction its span of 172 m was the longest of its type in the world. The government held a competition for the construction of a metallic bridge over the Douro River on a […]
The suspension bridge, officially named Ponte D. Maria II, was a suspension bridge linking the two banks of the Douro River, between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. The start of construction ceremony was held on 2 May 1841, to celebrate the anniversary of the coronation of Queen Maria II, although it got known as […]
The invasion of the Napoleonic troops in Portugal under Marshal Soult is still vividly remembered in Porto. A day after the French victory at the First Battle of Porto, on 29 March 1809, as the population fled for the advancing troops and tried to cross the river Douro over the Ponte das Barcas (a pontoon bridge), the bridge collapsed […]
The Maria Pia bridge (Ponte Maria Pia), commonly known as Ponte Dona Maria, is a railway bridge built in 1877 by Gustave Eiffel in Porto, Portugal. Built ofwrought iron, its two-hinged crescent arch used to carry the railway to Lisbon for 353 metres (1,158 ft) across the River Douro at a height of 60 m (200 ft) above the river. When constructed it was the longest single-arch span […]