A city of narrow streets, courtyards, stairs and medieval arches, Coimbra was the birthplace of six kings from Portugal and the First Dynasty, as well as the first University of the Country and one of the oldest in Europe. In the 12th century, Coimbra already had an urban structure, divided between the upper city, called Alta or Almedina, where aristocrats, clerics and, later, students lived, and Baixa, of commerce, artisans and neighborhoods riverside. Since the middle of the 16th century, the city's history has revolved around the history of the University of Coimbra, and it was only in the 19th century that the city began to expand beyond its walled hull, which even disappeared with the reforms carried out by the Marquis of Pombal at the end of the 18th century. These reforms will have a major impact, especially in the upper part of the city, where structures such as the Botanical Garden and some colleges of the University are created.
Jesus Chapel with the tomb of D. João de Noronha, designed by Jacques Boytac, but due to Boytac's move to North Africa and other works, it was built by the master Marcos Pires between 1518 and 1522. The vaults are ribbed and filled with the keys, ...
This church space (side chapels on the side of the epistle), due to its current configuration, is a living document of all the constructive interventions in this monastery. The stones, vaults, closed spans and arches that we see here express this....
In the reign of D. Manuel, the monastery is reformed. Bishop D. Vaz Vaz Gavião who would have accompanied D. Manuel to Santiago de Compostela in 1502 is named prior to the monastery, and begins the renovation campaign. Jacques Boytac who works in ...
Sacristy built in 1622. The authorship has been attributed to Pedro Nunes Tinoco, architect who attended the Paços da Ribeira Class in Lisbon, where he studied with the Italian Architect Filipe Terzi. His projects are within the Italian line of th...
The chapter room is from the time of D. Manuel and prior D. Pedro Gavião (1507-16), and occupies the space left by the roman chapter room. The project is by Master Boytac, and follows the same style as the nave, with high ceilings and ribbed vault...
Casa do Lavabo, attributed to Pedro Nunes Tinoco, in 1620-22. The walls are covered with 17th century tiles. Casa do Lavabo, attributed to Pedro Nunes Tinoco, in 1620-22. The walls are covered with 17th century tiles
Rectangular space with high ceilings (measured in plan and converted to Vitruvian measures, probably 2 x width 12p = 24p; the equivalent of 7.1m) arising from the construction of the mannerist sacristy, giving access to the staircase that served t...
In the reign of D. Manuel, the monastery is reformed. Bishop D. Vaz Vaz Gavião who would have accompanied D. Manuel to Santiago de Compostela in 1502 is named prior to the monastery, and begins the renovation campaign. Jacques Boytac who works in ...
The Almedina Gate and Tower is accessed from the Barbacã Gate, on Ferreira Borges Street, one of the main arteries in downtown Coimbra. Both are part of the Muralhada City Center. Based on the lowest part of the medieval fence, its construction ca...
The Manueline cloister that we see today occupies the position of the first Roman cloister in 1228. Although it was designed by Boytac during the 1507-18 construction campaign, it was executed and completed in 1520 by the master Marcos Pires. It i...
On the north wall we see a chapel from the middle of the 16th century, Renaissance, with double arch, vault of cradle with small boxes decorated with alternating flowers. Inside, an image of the Virgin that was sculpted by João de Ruão for the cen...
For its architectural quality, and for its state of conservation, it is the most representative building of the Romanesque in Portugal. The façade has three protruding volumes, the largest of which is that of the axial portal. This axial portal ha...
Paio Guterres, was a medieval knight linked to the formation of the kingdom, to D. Afonso Henriques and to the religious houses of Saint Augustine. This fountain dedicated to this figure linked to the foundation of Portugal is in the southeastern ...
Female monastery of the Order of Santa Clara, with a fully vaulted Gothic mendicant church. It had a first foundation in 1286, on the initiative of Dona Maior Dias, but having been extinguished in 1311, it had a new foundation in 1314, sponsored b...
