São Bento Railway Station
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São Bento railway station () is a 20th-century railway terminal in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
of
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, district of
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. The English translation of São Bento is Saint Benedict. The station is located in the Historic Centre of Porto, which has been declared a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
and as a National Monument of Portugal. This building was constructed over a number of years, starting in 1904, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of around twenty thousand
azulejo (, ; from the Arabic ) is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted Tin-glazing, tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of church (building), churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, r ...
tiles (551 square meters) were designed and painted by Jorge Colaço. The murals represent moments in the country's history and the multicolored panels depict rural scenes showing the people of various regions. The station is linked by an underground link to the São Bento station on line D of the Porto Metro.


History

As early as 1864, the ''Guia Histórico do Viajante do Porto e Arredores'' (''Historic Guide for the Traveller to Porto and Surroundings'') implied the intention to construct a central station to be located in the Palacette of the Quinta do Cirne (''Campo 24 de Agosto''). In 1887, José Maria Ferreira and António Júlio Machado, aldermen, presented to the municipal council a project for a Central Station in Porto, elaborated by Hippolyte de Bare. The following year, Emídio Navarro, Minister of Public Works, authorised the construction of a railway line between Campanhã and a central station to be built near ''Praça de D. Pedro''. It was finally decided to build the station on the site of the
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Convent of São Bento da Avé Maria, which had been ordered built by King
Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...
in 1518. The building had been a monastery until it was destroyed by fire in 1783 and was later rebuilt for use as a convent. It was in a state of disrepair by 1892 when the last nun died and was demolished that year. By 1890, work on the tunnel was already underway and was completed in 1893. The first train arrived at this location (before the current building was constructed) in 1896. But, in 1897, there was a landslide at the opening of the tunnel on the southern edge of the station. The preliminary work on a planned station along the angle of ''Praça Almeida Garret'' and ''Rua da Madeira'' began in 1900. The cornerstone was placed by King D. Carlos I. The design/build project was entrusted to Porto architect José Marques da Silva, whose design was influenced by French
Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and ...
. He showed the drawings of a first concept to the authorities in May 1897 and received a contract in September 1899, with full payment. He revised the concept several times during discussions with the Public Works staff at City Hall before settling on the final design, a U shape facing the Praça Almeida Garrett (Almeida Garrett Square). In 1901, the administrative commission for the railway expanded the concept to also include a postal station. The project was approved in 1903, and construction of the actual station building started the following year. The city was not satisfied with the work over the years and removed da Silva from the project in 1909. Various delays led to the total project (structure and interior decor) consuming 13 years. In September 1988, a plan was authorised to heritage list the property. The first steps to renovate the site began in 1992, with work on the facades and restoration of the boxes and ceiling; this included work on the interior and exterior illumination. In October 2016, ''Porto Vivo-Sociedade de Reabilitação Urbana'' ordered that public work in constructing a hostel on the lateral facade of the station should be stopped until an official application for a license was obtained. The company responsible for the installation was F2IS - Consultadora e Gestão de Projectos, which finally submitted an application on 17 October. The work was completed and the business operates as "The Passenger Hostel".


Architecture

The station is located in the historic centre, occupying a large space delimited by the ''Praça Almeida Garrett'', ''Rua da Madeira'' and ''Rua do Loureiro'', as well as the escarpment of Batalha, where a tunnel has been carved into the hill. The symmetrical, three-story, granite building has a U-shaped plan, with its principal facade oriented to the southwest. A building of geometric rigor, in the Beaux-Arts style that was particularly popular in France, it has a central body corresponding to the principal atrium and on either extreme two volumes. The central body has strong architrave cornice over corbels, with dense repetitive rhythm that covers the whole building. Rounding the facade is a robust frame with similar fenestrations, while the lateral facades maintain a relation between span symmetry, content and decoration. The vestibule is covered in azulejo tile, framed by pilasters. Near the ceiling is a blue and gold frieze decorated with stylized flowers, while below them is another polychromatic frieze depicting the history of transportation in Portugal. Below the friezes are large azulejo "paintings" representing historical events in Portuguese history. The tin-glazed azulejo tiles are integrated into the architecture by frames in granite which decorate the lines of the atrium.


Vestibule and historic tile images

There are approximately 20,000 azulejo tiles, dating from 1905–1916, that were composed by Jorge Colaço, an important painter of azulejo. The actual tiles were made in the Sacavém factory. Colaço placed the first tiles on 13 August 1905. To the left of the entrance is a scene depicting the ''Battle of Arcos de Valdevez'' and ''Egas Moniz before Alfonso VII of Castile'', while to the right, is ''D. João I in Oporto'', with his fiancée (with an unfortunate mechanical crossing through the middle of the picture), and the ''Conquest of Ceuta''. On the border wall at the entrance are small panels depicting countryside scenes. The tile project required 11 years to complete. The upper parts of the frieze are lined with polychromatic (multicolored) azulejos depicting a
chronology Chronology (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , , ; and , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the deter ...
of some forms of transport used by people in various areas of Portugal. The lower and upper frame of the frieze consists of a line of tile in blue, browns and yellow in a stylized geometric pattern. Under this, on the top of the north wall, is a large composition that covers the entire wall, depicting the Battle of Valdevez (1140), with two groups of antagonists and other knights in the background. This monochromatic composition, like the other main azulejo scenes, is executed in blue on white tile. Below it is another composition that represents meeting between the knight Egas Moniz and
Alfonso VII of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. ...
in Toledo (12th century), offering his life, his wife and his sons following the siege of Guimarães. In the south, is a painting of the entrance to Porto of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster, on horseback, to celebrate their wedding (1387). Below that is the
conquest of Ceuta The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, between Portuguese forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid Sultanate, Marinid sultanate of Morocco at the city of Ceuta. The city's defenses fell unde ...
(1415), with the principal figure of Infante D. Henrique, who subjugated the Moors. The wall into the station is divided into multiple compositions. To the left, a vision of the procession of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios in Lamego, an exhaustive description and detail showing the multitudes within an urban setting. Under this composition are two panels that represent her "promise" on her knees and, the other, her actions at the "miraculous" fountain. In the same detail is the
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
of São Trocato to Guimarães. One of the lower panels show a picture of a cattle fair and pilgrim camp. The central panels of the wall represent four work scenes: the vineyards, the harvest, the wine shipment down the
Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
and work in the watermill. On the pilasters separating the doors with access to the street, below the polychromatic frieze, is a series of smaller compositions. Above these are medallions depicting romantic scenes and, below, allegories associated with the railway referencing time and signalling, in an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style.


Services

São Bento is the main terminus of Porto's suburban railways lines and western terminus for the scenic Douro line between Porto and Pocinho. The station for trains arriving from Lisbon is the Campanhã (the national railway station) but there is subsequent service to São Bento via a local train. The station also serves the Minho, Braga, Guimarães, Caíde/ Marco de Canaveses and Aveiro lines. All trains leaving São Bento call at Campanhã station as their first stop. The station is on the Porto metro Line D (Yellow) with the first station south over the River Douro being Jardim do Morro and the first station north, Aliados. The station is near vintage tram line 22 and is connected to São Bento Metro Station on Metro line D.


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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Bento Train Station Railway stations in Porto Porto Metro stations Buildings and structures with azulejos in Portugal Railway stations in Portugal opened in 1916 Railway stations in Portugal opened in 1896