Praça da Liberdade – Liberty Square in Porto, is located about 200 meters to the east of Igreja e Torre dos Clerigos. It makes a 3 minute walk.
The Liberty Square is also an important stop during my holidays in Portugal. It is situated in one of the main streets of Porto, Avenida dos Aliados. The project of the square was designed, together with site development plans, in the second decade of the eighteenth century. Initially the square was called Praca Nova, which means New Square. It was placed between the palaces of Porto's wealthier inhabitants and the medieval city walls which, sadly, did not survive to our times.
A building in Avenida dos Aliados street in Porto
In the next few years the square was repeatedly rebuilt. Palace Cardosas, Dom Luis Bridge and Sao Bento Railway Station were all set up in its vicinity. The equestrian statue of King Peter IV, which is the most characteristic element of the square, was erected in 1866. Before the First World War the city hall was demolished and a boulevard was built on the north side of the square.
A classic advertisement of a Port wine vineyard
Nowadays, you can mainly see buildings of banks, restaurants, hotels or shopping centres around the Liberty Square. And this is exactly what I saw there, except for the monument of King Peter IV.
I decided to move on to my next stop: Sao Bento, a historical railway station.
The monument of King Peter IV
