A man has been arrested after he destroyed a 126-year-old statue – after attempting to take a selfie with it.

The sculpture, of a 16th-century Portuguese king, reportedly shattered after a man mounted it.

The man lifted himself onto the statue’s pedestal, causing it to crumble, and then attempted to flee the scene – but was caught by police.

He will be brought before a judge at a later date.

The statue, which outside the Rossio railway station in central Lisbon, is of Dom Sebastiao.



He was King of Portugal and the Algarves from June 1557 to August 1578. He disappeared during the battle of Alcácer Quibir in Morocco.

The destroyed Dom Sebastiao statue (Futebol/Noticias/YouTube)

His body was never found, but is presumed to have died at the age of 24.

Given he was childless, his death led indirectly to the end of the House of Aviz, which ruled the country from 1385–1581.

However, his legend lived in on and he became known as ‘The Sleeping King’ – destined to return during Portugal’s darkest hour.

Images show the statue smashed into many pieces before its empty frame.

(Credit: Ewan Munro/Flickr)