Piers of the Suspension Bridge

The Suspension Bridge was built by the French company Claranges Lucotte and Co., and opened to the public in 1843 to fill a need for a permanent bridge between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, replacing the Bridge of Boats. It was said that the bridge, which was officially known as the D. Maria II Bridge, trembled like a reed, and it was this lack of safety that dictated its short 44 years of existence. It had been quickly built because of large floods in Porto that rendered the old Bridge of Boats inoperable. It was deactivated in 1887 and replaced by the D. Luis I Bridge. The two stone obelisk shaped pillars are all that remains of the historic crossing.