Lisboa - Ponte 25 de Abril

The Phoenicians founded bases in Portugal from 1000 BC. They and later the c are said to have called the site "Alis Ubbo" and used it as the only large natural harbor on the Iberian Atlantic coast. According to Pliny the Elder, Lisbon was later regarded as a foundation of Odysseus.

Under Roman rule, from around 205 BC, the city was initially called Olisipo. Julius Caesar succeeded in breaking the last resistance of the local tribes in 60 BC. Under Caesar, Roman veterans were settled here to control the area. The town was granted Roman city rights in 48 BC and subsequently became a larg town in the province of Lusitania. From 409 A.D. onwards, barbarian tribes advanced into the Iberian Peninsula. Alans, Suebi, Vandals and Visigoths attempted to occupy Lisbon. In 468, the Roman city commander surrendered the city to the Suebi, but shortly after the earthquake of 472 the Visigoths began to rule.

In 719, Lisbon was conquered by Muslim Moors and later became part of the Emirate of Córdoba. After this, the city experienced its first major boom. Although Alfonso II conquered the city for a short time in 798,[ Lisbon soon fell to the Moors again. During the Caliphate of Córdoba, the city was one of the most important ports, while Christian Galicians and Leonese repeatedly attempted to conquer it. Vikings devastated the city and the surrounding area in 844.

In the 11th century, Lisbon belonged to the Emirate of Badajoz. From 1093, Raymond of Armous, a son of William I of Burgundy, was given the rule of Galicia. From there, he undertook campaigns against the Moors in the south. He succeeded in temporarily entering Lisbon after the Muslim ruler of Badajoz had submitted to King Alfonso, but even this conquest was was not permanent, nor was the occupation of Lisbon by Norwegian crusaders under Sigurd in 1108.

Even when Alfonso I came to power, the south of the Iberian Peninsula was still held by the Moors. However, in 1147, the siege of Lisbon finally led to the capture of the city. External support for the attackers was decisive: the successful siege of the city by an army of crusaders from the Second Crusade secured Alfonso I the basis for his rule over the entire surrounding area.

An earthquake struck on the morning of 1 November 1755.Along with a major fire and a tsunami, the Lisbon earthquake destroyed the Portuguese capital almost completely. With 30,000 to 100,000 deaths of the 275,000 inhabitants, this earthquake is one of the most devastating natural disasters in European history. About 85 percent of all Lisbon's buildings were destroyed.


The "Ponte 25 de Abril" (often jast called the Ponte) is a 3.2 kilometer long bridge with a 2278 meter long suspension bridge over the Tejo River. It is the third longest suspension bridge in the world with combined road and rail traffic.

The first ideas for a bridge over the Tagus were already being considered in the 19th century.

It was not until 1953 that a commission was commissioned by the government to draw up and examine the relevant plans. Construction began in 1962. The steel required was imported from the United States. Completion in 1966 required around 2.2 million man hours.

The bridge was inaugurated and opened to the public on August 6, 1966 in a state ceremony under the name Salazar Bridge. After the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, it was renamed Ponte 25 de Abril.