Station of Sao Bento (Estacao Ferroviaria de Porto-Sao Bento) description and photos - Portugal: Porto (Topic)

Sao Bento train station (Estacao Ferroviaria de Porto-Sao Bento) description and photos - Portugal: Porto. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Estacao Ferroviaria de Porto-Sao Bento.

Photo and description

The main train station of Porto is located in the city center, on the Almeida Garrett Square, and is one of the two main train stations in the city, both for residents wishing to get to Porto from the north of Portugal, and for tourists who want to explore the surroundings of Porto.

Originally on the site of the station was the Benedictine monastery of San Bento de Ave Maria. In 1783, a fire broke out in the monastery, later work was carried out to restore the building, but by the end of the 19th century, the monastery finally fell into disrepair. In connection with the development of the railway network on the territory of Portugal, on the site of an abandoned monastery in 1900, King Carlos I laid the foundation stone of the railway station. The project for the construction of the station was entrusted to the architect Jose Marcus de Silva, who built the building in the style of French neoclassical architecture.

The decoration of the Sao Bento train station with the famous azulejo tiles made Portugal famous throughout the world. The building was decorated by the artist Georges Kolas. Inside the station, the walls are decorated with paintings by this artist, more than 20,000 azulejo tiles in blue and white tones, illustrating episodes from the history of railways and vehicles in the upper part of the walls, battle scenes in the middle, and paintings of peasant life, as well as historical scenes from the life of Portugal, such as the arrival of Monarch Joao I and Philip of Lancaster in the city of Porto.

The station was opened in 1896, fully completed in 1916 and is still functioning.

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Topic: Station of Sao Bento (Estacao Ferroviaria de Porto-Sao Bento) description and photos - Portugal: Porto.