Coimbra

We just had a couple of hours for a brief walk in the heat of the day of the old town of Coimbra in addition to having a sandwich at a nice sidewalk cafe near Santa Cruz. The quick impression is of a very pretty town with lots to do.

Coimbra is the 4th largest city in Portugal with a population of 143,397,
Coimbra was the Roman settlement of Aeminium, and was the first capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255) and many buildings still remain. During the late Middle Ages, with its decline as the political centre of Portugal, Coimbra began to evolve into a major cultural centre with the establishment of the first Portuguese university in 1290 in Lisbon and its relocation to Coimbra in 1308.

Renan pointed out key sites as we walked within the walled part of the old town. You had to be of a certain status to live within the walls. Jews etc lived outside the walls. The main cathedral is Romanesque ie square in shape with small windows, glass and the Renaissance entry added later. You can see the castle elements where the knights could stand behind the points at the top and step out to shoot their arrows. Like all these towns, being built on a hill within the walls means building upward, generally six stories and the kitchens usually at the top in case fire destroyed things it was more limited to the one floor. That's a lot of steps to bring your groceries up! Fado is the local lamenting ballads of the region. The Church of St Cruz is where King Alfonso the first is entombed.Read more