Christoph König

Porto – the City of Pride (English)

1st November, 2010

When I first visited Porto in 2006, I was surprised by the two very diverse faces of the city: The River versus the Atlantic Ocean, the hills very high up versus the very low riverside, tradition versus modernity, deeply Portuguese elements versus the international influx, Porto versus Gaia, the old town versus Casa da Musica – both sides always very pronounced.

Since then I call her “City of two faces”.

Porto might be less flamboyant than, let’s say: Paris. And it certainly takes more time to discover “her” soul. But I do have the feeling that this is a deeper, profounder and more serious experience. Things seem to take a bit more time than in some other parts of the “western” world which I find an exceptional virtue in these times of hectic pace and stress and speed and clocks running and time saving machines. When everything is expected to be easily accessible, ex and hop, fast food…. Porto is not like this!

Porto: “City of time”.

And then: Our exceptional Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto and our Casa da Musica and the spirit they stand for: a spirit of unusual open-mindedness and colourful programming with virtually no limits in a very warm and welcoming environment. Those are only two of the many reasons why I am so proud to be a part of this town!

Porto: “City of pride“

Christoph Koenig