If you‘re going on a river cruise to the Duoro River, one city that should not be missed is Porto, one of the oldest cities in Europe. Basic History Porto is Portugal's second largest city, found along the Duoro in Northwest Portugal. It is a modern cosmopolitan city near the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The area around Porto is one of the most industrialized in Portugal. Together with Lisbon and the Algarve Region, it is one of the most visited tourist sites in the country, visited by millions of tourists every year. Porto is also home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in Portugal and is considered on of the best Jewish safe havens in Europe, with hardly any instances of Anti-Semitism. It is also home to the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue built during the 1920-30s. This has made it a popular destination for kosher tours operating in Europe. Porto is also known for its world renowned export – the Port wine, which was originally exported only from this city (hence the name). It was brought – and still is brought – on barges by the Douro River, whose deep valley formed the city. The southern bank of the river belongs to Vila Nova de Gaia, a city and municipality of the Porto District. The historic center of Porta - Ribeira was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The oldest settlement on the site of today's Porto dates back to the late Bronze Age, around the 8th century BC. The Cale settlement belonged the Celtic Castro people, who are most likely associated with the Celtic tribal group, Gallaeci. The Northwest Iberian peninsula was gradually annexed to the Republic of Rome, after the end of the Punic Wars. It was romanized around the 2nd-1st century BC. Around the year 136 BC, the Roman commander Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus founded the city of Portus Cale during a military expedition in Galicia. According to the most accepted interpretation, its combined Latin-Celtic name gave the country its name - Portugal. The Roman government in Porto ended during the period of the Migration of Nations. In 409, the East Germanic tribe of the Swebes crossed the Pyrenees. A year later, their first king, Hermerich, founded on the territory of the former Roman province a Kingdom of Swebia. Between the 4th to 6th centuries, the city officially adopted Christianity and became the seat of the bishop. It was then controlled by the Moors following the Arab expansion in 711. The border between Muslim and Christian realms stabilized in the area where Porto stands today. In 868, Alfonso III, the king of Asturias, León and Galicia, gave his vassal, the Galician warlord Vimara Peres, an order to reclaim and and secure the area between the Minho and Douro rivers on the borderline with the Muslim Moors. These first attempts were a part of what later became known as the Reconquista. Vimara Peres became the first earl of the newly formed Portuguese County (Portuguese Condado de Portucale). In the 12th century, the construction of the stone basilica of the bishop's cathedral of Sé de Porto began. At that time, Porto was the seat of the Portuguese kings. In 1386, the oldest military alliance in the world was established—the Windsor Treaty with England, confirmed by the wedding of Jan I and Philip of Lancaster, the daughter of Jan of Gaunt in Port a year later. Since the 14th century, the ship industry and maritime fleet developed rapidly, and other overseas discoveries occured. In 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator made an expedition to the Moroccan port of Ceuta, which was controlled by Arab pirates. This began the Portuguese overseas discovery era, Portugal’s finest hour in world history. With the expansion of wine production around the Douro River, the need for distribution grew. This created new shipping routes, such as the one in 1703 between Porte and England. Specialized trading companies were launched in Porto, very often controlled the English. As a result of this boom of English traders, Sebastião de Melo started to monopolize the entire sector in favor of Portugal. This brought much dissatisfaction from small winemakers who rebelled against it. During the 17th to 19th centuries the city grew rapidly. Several monasteries were founded by Jesuits and Carmelitans, and the Augustinian monastery was built. Its 76 meter- tall Torre dos Clérigos is one of the city’s dominant structures and is still accessible today as a lookout tower. The emerging city became a target of the Napoleonic army, which captured the city on March 29, 1809. The locals tried to escape the soldiers using the Douro pontoon (Ponte dos Barcos) to get to the other bank. It did not stand the extreme weight of the pedestrians and collapsed, resulting in more than 4,000 people drowning. This tragic event is still remember through the relief on the new bridge built during the 20th Century. The second half of the 19th century brought industrialization into Porto. Railway and bridge construction over Douro began. In the 20th century, further urbanization took place, with Porto actually absorbing the surrounding towns.
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