Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Parque Eduardo VII


This park was named after King Edward VII (UK) who visited Lisbon in 1902. The Tagus river estuary and its left bank can be seen in the background.
The man on the pedestal facing downtown is the Marquis of Pombal (King José I PM). He rebuilt the city after the big earthquake in 1755.

The earthquake (8,5/9 on the Richter scale) was followed by a tsunami whose waves invaded Lisbon 65 minutes later reaching places 250m far from the river. Then there was a big fire to complete the destruction. 12 to 15 thousand people have died; 55 palaces, more than 50 churches and convents and the Royal Library were among the 10.000 buildings that have just vanished.

28 comments:

cieldequimper said...

Oh wow, what a history! The photo: wonderful perspective all the way down to the river (or is it more an estuary here?)

nanak said...

WOW! this photo is fantastic! great shot JM. i really love it!

penny said...

Your photo is amazing! Everyone should enlarge it to appreciate it's true beauty. Thank's for the very interesting history lesson, JM.

nobu said...

Wonderful composition.
I love this fine broad view.

Marie-Noyale said...

What a gorgeous point of view...

Olivier said...

la photo et la perspective est magnifique.

Sharon said...

This is a gorgeous photo and a wonderful view. The history of natures furry is something important to think about. I love the design of those hedges. They add texture to that long green spot.

Tanya Breese said...

Awesome view JM and such a tragic history...so sad...

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

A beautiful place in commemoration of a tragic event. Similar to the series of photos I am showing about the Arenal Volcano, beauty and tragedy sometimes occur in the same place.

I appreciate the comment that you left on my coati post with the advice to stay within the park at Tikal. We will do that. I know you have been to Iguacu and I am sure you would agree that it is also worthwhile to stay within that park, at either the elegant hotel on the Brazilian side or the Sheraton (great location, but not an architecturally beautiful building) on the Argentine side.

Other places where it is worthwhile to stay within the park is at the Los Notros resort at the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina.

We did not stay up at the Santuary Lodge at the top of Machu Picchu, but were able to take the first bus up in the morning to return to the top before sunrise anyway.

The hotels with the best locations within the parks, etc., often have prices to match their locations.

Virginia said...

This looks like a maze on the portal. The shadows make this an amazing photo. I enlarged it and it's just great JM> Interesting post today.

abc said...

Fantastic view, but what a terrible doomsday background story. Makes one think about how even more beauty would have been around in Lisbon, had it not been destroyed. Although probably a lot of other beauty replaced it.

Babzy.B said...

nice pic ,i didn't know about the history of the earthquake and other calamities , very interesting !

Lowell said...

What an absolutely wonderful photograph! And the history lesson was very well done. I knew none of that, so thank you.

Now, for the park and the maze. How much fun is that? Is it actually a maze and have you walked through it intact?

Dina said...

Such devastation there was! But now it is beautiful again.

crocrodyl said...

Great photo! Stunning view!!

stromsjo said...

Magnetic perspective. With the right kind of music, this would make a great beginning for a movie.

Jim said...

Interesting history and great shot.

Anonymous said...

Dear GOD - that's a lot of destruction to happen w/ one incident! Horrible! However, it was very interesting & the photo is beautiful!

airplane5312 said...

Never heard of a Tsunami in Europe, but I guess they can occur anywhere. Great view in the this photo. I'd love to make it to Lisbon sometime. Thanks for visiting my blog. I've been so tardy in reciprocating.

Anonymous said...

This is such a wonderful shot I love the lines!

magiceye said...

beautiful perspective

Hilda said...

You've mentioned the earthquake before but this is the first time you specified just how devastating it was! What Oeiras' leaders managed to do after — the rebuilding into this gorgeous city — is even more amazing given this fact.

This is a magnificent view, by the way. The sweep is tremendous.

Joan Elizabeth said...

An amazing photo. I have never seen a place like this.

Kate said...

The formality of the garden is compelling! History is fascinating, isn't it?

Tash said...

Gorgeous photo. Interesting foreground drawing the viewer into the photo. Loved it enlarged.
Thanks for providing a some history too.

humanobserver said...

Wonderful shot. A great view too :)

Anonymous said...

You live in such an extradinary and picturesque place - lucky you!

MurciaDailyPhoto said...

This park seems great on the way you've captured the image.