Portugalete
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Image:Bizkaia municipalities Portugalete.JPG Image:Portugaletevizcaya.jpg Image:Puente Colgante.jpg
Portugalete is a port city lying to the west of Bilbao (Basque: Bilbo) in the province of Biscay in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the North of Spain. The town has 50,000 inhabitants and it's part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It´s located on the mouth of the Estuary of Bilbao, on the left bank.
Portugalete was since 1300 the main competitor port for Bilbao, but it lost its predominant position in 1511 when the trade privileges were granted to the Port of Bilbao instead of Portugalete.
[edit] The transporter bridge
The city is famously known for the Puente Colgante, a transporter bridge. The car ferry is suspended from a frame by wires attached to wheels on tracks above the cabin and moves from one side of the River Nervión to the other (Getxo) via a traction system. This bridge has been declared a World Heritage Site on july 13 2006.
[edit] Other monuments
Other important monuments in Portugalete include the 15th century Basilic of Santa María, Salazar's Tower, and the town hall in addition to the old medieval archs and streets in the older part of the city.
[edit] External links
- http://www.soydeportugalete.com/ - Guide to Everything On Portugalete. Religious and civil architecture, sculptures of the Villa, history, a complete chronology, heraldry, routes and walks, places of interest, ancient images. Quite illustrated with an excellent current photography. (Spanish)
- PORTUGALETE in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (Spanish)
- El Puente Colgante (Spanish)
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