Coimbra was the capital of Portugal from 1139 to 1256, making it the country’s second capital.
The first traces of settlement date back to the Romans. In 878, Coimbra was occupied by the troops of Asturian King Alfonso III. The Muslim population was driven out in 904. In 987, Coimbra was again conquered and destroyed by the Moors. In 1064, the city was reconquered by King Fernando de Castilla y León. The Moors conquered the city one last time in 1117 but withdrew for good after a few days.
After Lisbon became the new capital of Portugal in 1256, King Dionysius (Dom Dinis) founded the University of Lisbon in 1290, which was moved to Coimbra in 1308. After several changes with Lisbon, it was finally settled in Coimbra by King John III (D. João III) in 1537. It is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. It still shapes life and the economy in the city today. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.
We travel from Porto to Coimbra by train. The distance is approx. 120 km and the journey takes around 70 minutes. Shortly after leaving Porto, we cross the Douro and have a good view of the bridge first built by Gustave Eiffel and his partner Théophile Seyrig, the Ponte Maria Pia. At the time of construction, it was the largest arch bridge in the world. It has been closed since 1991.
The train station of Aveiro with the magnificent tiles reminds us of the pictures and the well-known train station of Pinhao on the Douro. In Aveiro, we also see the Fabrica Ceramica de Jeronimo Pereira Campos, a former ceramics factory that serves as a congress and cultural center today.
In Coimbra, we go through the historic old town, which has many similarities with the old city of Porto, up to Alcaçova Hill and the university.
The Paço das Escolas (Palace of Schools) of the University of Coimbra was the first royal palace in Portugal. It was inhabited from 1131 by D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. Before that, it was the seat of the city governor during Muslim rule.
Music by Johannes Kayser
The northern end of the large square is formed by the Sala dos Capelos. This is the former throne room where the coronation of D. Afonso Henriques took place.
In the 17th century, it was redesigned for the needs of the university and today serves as the main room for ceremonies. The hall is surrounded by a circular walkway that extends onto various balconies and offers a magnificent view of the city and its surroundings.
The façade of the building, with the portico and the colonnade, is called Via Latina. It is often used for photo events at graduation ceremonies.
To the right is the Iron Gate, the official entrance to Paço das Escolas. The bell tower rises up on the left-hand side. Initially, the freshmen were no longer allowed to leave their accommodation when the bells rang in the evening.
On the west side, the square is bordered by the Joanina Library. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and famous libraries in the world. More than 200,000 books are kept here, many from the Middle Ages.
The artistically designed and gold-decorated rooms are absolutely worth seeing. A special feature is a colony of bats whose job is to keep the books free of vermin and parasites. Unfortunately, filming and photography are only permitted in the side rooms but are forbidden in the main rooms. Given the frequent publications on the Internet, this is incomprehensible to us.
Right next to it is the Capela de São Miguel. It is similarly ornate, and the baroque organ from 1733, in particular, is still fully functional with almost 2000 organ pipes. It is comparable to the organ in Braga Cathedral. Here, in the Capela de São Miguel, filming is fortunately permitted.
The gold used here, and in many other buildings in Portugal, is easily recognizable as gold from Ouro Preto in Brazil. The gold has a slightly blackish color caused by iron oxide impurities. By 1820, around 1,200 tons of gold had been mined in Ouro Preto. Only a part of this remained in Brazil. Since Portugal was dependent on military aid from England at that time, it can be assumed that this gold was also used to finance part of the industrial revolution in England. Pictures from a visit to Ouro Preto in 1979 can also be seen on our website.
A statue has been erected in the middle of the square in honor of D. João III, as he finally brought the university to Coimbra in 1537.
Through the Iron Gate, we come to the newer buildings of the university.
A statue of the king was erected at Praça D. Dinis.
An aqueduct from the 16th century supplied the upper town with water. It goes back to an old Roman aqueduct that was once located here.
The monumental flight of steps, Escadas Monumentais, leads up the hill from the lower town.
We go back down into the valley and visit the Sé Nova (New Cathedral), which is also lavishly decorated.
Next to it are the Igreja de São João de Almedina and the Machado de Castro National Museum.
On our way is another mighty cathedral, the Sé Velha (old cathedral) from the 12th century.
We come to the mulher de Coimbra (woman from Coimbra), called Tricana. The tricana, who always carries a jug with her on the way to the river Mondego, is widespread in Portuguese literature.
After all these impressions, we return to the train station and take the train to Porto.
See also photo gallery of our visit
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