São Bento railway station

The Porto São Bento Railway Station (Portuguese Estação de São Bento [ ɯʃtɐsɐu dɯ ˌ sɐubɛtu ] ) is an inner-city railway station in the northern Portuguese city of Porto, located at Praça de Almeida Garrett. First trains ran in 1896 to São Bento, but the building itself went into operation in 1916. The station is located on the site of the former monastery Mosteiro de São Bento de Avé -Maria, now the name of the monastery is still preserved. The train station itself was designed by the architect José Marques da Silva, for our designed numerous portico Azulejos the painter Jorge Colaço was responsible. Under the square in front of the station building is the Siza Vieira designed in 1999 by subway station São Bento.

São Bento is also the headquarters of the CP- CP subsidiary Urbanos' do Porto, also being a transition to the light rail system Portos, the Metro do Porto, possible.

History

1518 ordered King Manuel I of Portugal, that at his own cost within the city walls Portos a monastery was to be built, it was called the Mosteiro de São Bento de Avé -Maria. The located around monasteries in Rio Tinto, Vila Cova, Tarouquela and Tuías therefore dissolved the Catholic Church and founded the new monastery in the year in 1535.

With the rise of liberalism in Portugal in the 19th century, confiscated the government, after the dissolution of various orders, the goods and the building of the church. In 1892, after the death of the last monk of the Mosteiro de São Bento de Avé -Maria, the monastery passed into the possession of the State. While the monastery was demolished itself in 1894, the church remained until 1901 still stand.

Meanwhile, was opened in 1875, both the Linha do Minho of Viana do Castelo and the Linha do Douro from the Douro valley by the Royal Portuguese Railway Company ( Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses ), but the trains ended up first at the far from downtown remote station Campanhã. The proposal of the extension was out of the question, the problem was, however, in search of a suitable new station building. It quickly became clear that the former monastery should give way for the new station. During the demolition works were still ongoing, extended the Portuguese Royal Railway Company the route Campanhã on November 7, 1896 to the city center, although there was no terminus. During this time the trains ended right at Praça da Liberdade, three small wooden houses housed the ticket office and waiting room.

The beginning of work on the new station, which broke ground formed a cornerstone of the old convent, and the three new urban tunnel Tunel da Quinta da China (96 meters), Tunel do Monte do Seminário (225 meters) and Tunel the Fontainhas / Tunel de São Bento ( 753 meters), which were necessary for smooth operation, was on 22 October 1900. the new station building, which covers an area of ​​551 square meters, a native of Porto architect José Marques da Silva designed. For the porch of the artist Jorge Colaço could be won. This designed the vestibule of the train station with numerous typical Portuguese tiles images, called azulejos. In the images presented Colaço among others Infante D. Henrique in the conquest of Ceuta, the marriage João I. Filipa de Lencastre, and with the idea Egas Moniz ' before the king Afonso VII of Castile and Léon dar.

The station building in the shape of a "U" went to a good 16 years of construction work only on 5 October 1916 in operation. Since then, the trains end from the Douro and the Minho Valley and Guimarães and Aveiro in the station. Long-distance trains stopped only in exceptional cases at the station. The main entrance is located today at Praça de Almeida Garrett, the side wings are parallel to the Rua de Madeira and Rua de Loureiro.

1966 allowed the government Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses electrify the entire route between Lisbon and Porto, including the railway station São Bento. Since 1997 the station building as " building the public interest " ( interest imóvel de público ) is registered in the forbidding list of IGESPAR.

Since 2005 there is a direct transition between the suburban and regional trains of the Comboios de Portugal and the newly constructed light rail system Portos, the Metro do Porto. At the metro station of the light rail line stops D, also called Linha de Gaia. The underground station with two side platforms is kept as the others in the Portuenser rail network very simple, small-scale tiles with different bright hues given the design. The design of the subway station took over the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, whereas most of the underground city railway stations in Porto by Eduardo Souto de Moura designed.

The end of 2008 presented the Invesfer, a subsidiary of REFER, plans for the expansion of the station into a shopping center. The Portuguese monument protection authority, meanwhile, rose to oppose such plans.

Since then, the state railway company Comboios de Portugal has outsourced the business units, the subsidiary CP Urbanos' do Porto, which is responsible for local and regional transport in the region of Porto, based in São Bento railway station.