page_title: Christ the King (Almada)
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Christ the King (Almada) / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: National Shrine of Christ the King and Cristo Rei Statue in Almada (Portugal)
context_page_description: The Sanctuary of Christ the King is a Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Lisbon situated in Almada, in Portugal. It was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, after the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon visited that monument. The project was inaugurated on 17 May 1959, while Portugal was ruled by the authoritarian President of the Council of Ministers António de Oliveira Salazar who gave his final permission for the project. The giant statue in cement was erected to express gratitude because the Portuguese were spared the effects of World War II.
context_section_description: The monument was erected on an isolated clifftop 133 m above the sea, overlooking the Tagus River left bank. It was constructed in the parish of Pragal, which was merged with the parishes of Almada, Cova da Piedade, Pragal e Cacilhas in 2013, into the municipality of Almada. It is the highest point in Almada, on a plateau dominated by the 25 de Abril Bridge, and close to the Estação Elevatória e Reservatório do Pragal.  It is accessible from Lisbon by car (over the 25 de Abril Bridge east of the crossing), by train through station in Pragal and by ferry (the Cacilheiro) over the Tagus, through the port of Cacilhas in Almada.
  The monument consists of a trapezoidal pedestal of 82 metres (269 ft) height, formed by four arches and a flat platform, supporting the 28 metres (92 ft) image of Christ.  Its base was designed by architect António Lino in the form of a gate, while the statue of Christ the King was designed by sculptor Francisco Franco de Sousa. The four arches of the pedestal are oriented in the directions of the compass rose.  The figure of Christ, comparable to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, forms a cross, with its arms extended out facing the city of Lisbon, as if to embrace the city.  Due to issues of security and safety, the monument was sufficiently distanced from the cliffs on which it predominates.
  At the base of the statue is the observation deck, at 82 metres (269 ft), which enables panoramic views of the city of Lisbon, the Tagus River and the 25 de Abril Bridge.
  Under the statue, occupying a fifth of the pedestal's height is the Chapel of Our Lady of Peace (Nossa Senhora da Paz) with an entrance from the northern facade. This space is distinctly different with its masonry stone, the northern facade surmounted by cross and the other facades containing narrow doors. Inside two of the pillars is an elevator system with access to the terrace; the statue is 79.30 metres high, and overlooks the Tagus (192 metres above the river).
  To the south of the monument is the Sanctuary building, comprising a rectangular body of three wings, with facades covered with masonry brick. In 1987 there was a plan to construct 18 different buildings and spaces around the monument (including a restaurant, lookouts, a commercial complex, a parking area and a sanctuary), of which only a few of these structures were built.  The most notable was the construction of the visitors' centre and the Sanctuary building.
caption: Sanctuary of Christ the King
exif: {"Image Make": "EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY", "Image Model": "KODAK EASYSHARE C643 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "230", "Image YResolution": "230", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Version 1.2000", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "340", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4980", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3504", "EXIF ExposureTime": "777/1000000", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:01:03 15:08:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:01:03 15:08:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "16/5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "258/25", "EXIF ApertureValue": "113/25", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "143/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "6", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2848", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2134", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4948", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "80", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "36", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}