Nov 2 Coimbra, Portugal

 After the Palace we went to Coimbra. This is a medium size city (about 150,000 population) within 25 miles of the Atlantic but on a series of hills about 1500' in elevation (image 1 from wikipedia). The river in the image is the Mondego which empties into the Tagus which in turn flows into the Atlantic at Lisbon.

We had drinks and ate our packed lunch in a little park at the base of the hill near the river (image 2).

Coimbra was the capital of Portugal at various times. Most importantly, it was the home of the University of Portugal from 1308 to 1338 and since 1537 where it has been known as the University of Coimbra (the University was in Lisbon from 1290 to 1308 and 1338 to 1537. Beth and George are at the entrance to the old University (third image).  The entrance is a Manueline (design art on the structural elements) facade on a plain wall. The various statues represent wisdom and other virtues. 

The fourth image shows George and some of our group in front of the main entrance to the classroom portion of the old University. It is magnificent because it was a royal palace at various times, e.g., during the reign of John III who also moved the University from Lisbon to Coimbra in the 16th century. 

Speaking of John III, that's George (fourth image) with a statue of John III in the courtyard of the old University (sorry about cutting off the head - I didn't realize I had done it until we were away from the area). 

Another view of the statue (fifth image from 123rf.com) is below that. The plaque reads Jaoa III as that is how John III is in Portuguese. John III and Henry VIII of England both ruled their respective countries in the early 16th centuries. Apparently, they also dressed alike.  Also, England and Portugal signed a treaty of alliance in June 1373 and it has been reinforced with various additional clauses about a dozen times. The treaty was void during the Spanish occupation of Portugal from 1580 to 1640. 

The University of Coimbra had a student prison for many years. It is now a tourist attraction. In the sixth image, George is at the entrance. 





In the seventh image, I am in the actual maximum detention cell.  A similar image of me at the West Virginia prison is at the end of another vacation trip post here. I've also been in a similar image at Alcatraz  and in Venice at the Doge's prison. There may be records of how many students had to imprisoned and how many were in the max detention cell but I couldn't find anything on the internet. One of the local guides told us that the prison was generally used to make sure students didn't cause trouble for the local merchants when they weren't in class. 


In the eighth image, is the entrance to the University of Coimbra chapel. This is another Manueline facade placed on a relatively plain wall. This also has twisted columns which I think is a feature unique to Manueline architecture. 


The ninth image shows the 'outside' of the old University building (and sometimes Palace) that faces the town.  It has none of the design art on its structure or anywhere for that matter except maybe on the top of the battlement. It does have nice pointed domes.



The tenth image shows a structure that was a Roman retaining wall of the border of a town. The Roman remains of Coimbra are just starting to be excavated by trained archeologists. Incidentally, Roman Coimbra didn't fall to the Visigoths until about 540 CE. Rome itself fell to Alaric in 410 CE and to other barbarians in 476.


 The eleventh image shows George in front of the old cathedral (Se Velha) of Coimbra. It is where Sancho I was crowned King in 1185 (he was the second King of Portugal) and where John I was crowned in 1385.  It is a fine example of Romanesque architecture (narrow windows, thick structural elements and some Roman arches). As a bonus it has scalloped battlements on top for reasons that I can't imagine. 

The 12th image shows George in front of an arch. The arch separates the old historic area from the commercial area of new Coimbra. The old area is higher in elevation and in fact the University sits on top of a hill that is about 150' above the part of the city near the river.