Thousands fled over a bridge made of boats. It gave way.

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The story

In March 1809, French troops under Marshal Soult took Porto. In panic, residents fled toward Gaia over the Ponte das Barcas, a floating bridge of boats built in 1806. Chased by soldiers, the crowd packed onto the planks until the bridge gave way. Estimates of the dead run from several hundred to over 4,000.

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Context

The Ponte das Barcas had 20 barges joined by cables and covered with planks. In Porto it is simply 'the Disaster'. Its memorial on the Ribeira, the Alminhas da Ponte ('little souls of the bridge'), has had a bronze relief by the sculptor José Joaquim Teixeira Lopes since 1897, and candles are kept burning there. The church of São José das Taipas also serves as a memorial, and every 29 March a Mass is said for the victims. The exact number of dead was never established.