Seeing Braga through a straw - Bom Jesus - braga

In 1862 a telescope was placed in a belvedere on the north side of the Adro, near the Hotel do Elevador, overlooking the city.

Thus was born the so-called "see Braga by a straw" . This was immortalized by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro in the António Maria Caricatures Album.

In 1924 it was replaced by a new telescope with an objective with a diameter of 130 mm , the so-called Terrestrial Observation Telescope. Initially, the "straw" was placed in the Orange Half and for every five minutes that the visitor observed through the straw, he paid fifty cents. Due to the influx of public to this infrastructure, the monocle was provided with an iron fence in 1944.

The "straw" retains the original design, that is, the aesthetic appearance, black and white, dirty colors, as well as the original optical functions and the entire mechanical structure, tripod, mounting bracket, housing, eyepiece and lens equipment.

Currently, the telescope is protected and can be visited in the P. Cândido Pedrosa Exhibition Centre. In 2015, a new telescope was installed in the outdoor location, modern and appropriate to its function.

Willem Vandenameele