Lectures of Urban and Industrial heritage of Porto: the bourgeoisie and the railway in the city of Porto

Abstract

With this paper we want to present the historical connection of three different buildings of the historic center of Porto: Estação de S. Bento (a railway station of S. Bento), Palácio da Bolsa (Palace of the Stock Exchange) and the Shot Tower of lead balls for hunting. We want to present each building and found what they have in common and how way they can be linked: by its date of construction, by its founders, by its function and finally by representing the bourgeoisie power in the city at the end of the XIX century and in the first decades of the twentieth century. These three building are points of an historical and touristic itinerary but they have different impacts and conditions: the railway station of S. Bento is a public space, belonging to the Portuguese Railway Company – Comboios de Portugal – it is a national monument since 1997 and even today it’s full of passengers and tourists. The Palácio of Bolsa (Palace of Stock Exchange) belongs to the Commercial Association of Porto, and it’s a place used for special events, concerts, conferences and one of the most visited buildings in the city. It is a National monument since 1982, but the Shot Tower – a manufacture of balls for hunting – is a private building, with a particular history in the industrial history of Porto, has a particular architecture, and its visit is a discovery of actors and technic and for these reasons it should be a part of a touristic itinerary.