A man has smashed a 126-year-old statue of a Portuguese king after toppling the iconic carving while climbing it to take a selfie.

The unidentified man climbed onto the pedestal of the Dom Sebastiao statue at Rossio railway station in Lisbon in order to capture the perfect shot.

Instead the 24-year-old managed to bump the item, sending it crashing to the ground and breaking into dozens of pieces.

Pieces of the revered statue lie in pieces after being collected from the train station in Lisbon, Portugal

The carving of 16th century king Dom Sebastian which was destroyed had been on display for 126 years

It had sat next to two horseshoe shaped entrances outside Rossio station in downtown Lisbon

A spokesperson for Infrastructure Portugal said they did not know when it would be fixed or returned to the site

The statue - which was in perfect condition - had sat adorning the station entrance since June 11, 1890, Globo reported.

A spokesperson for Infrastructure Portugal did not know when it would be fixed, or returned to the site. However, he ruled out attaching it to the base using screws once it was reinstalled.

Dom Sebastian, known as the child king, was a young leader who ruled Portugal from 1557 - 1578 after taking the throne aged three following the deaths of his father and grandfather.