PORTUGAL 2025
It was a much nicer day today to head North towards Coimbra.
March 9
We had a few stops along the way including Batalha, home of the Mosteiro da Batalha.
On August 14, 1385, not far from where Mosteiro da Batalha stands today, D. João, Master of Avis, defeated the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota and saved national independence. Born out of religious and patriotic fervor, and located about two kilometers from the place where the Castilians were defeated, the Batalha Monastery would begin to be built a few years later. This monastery was built over two centuries until around 1563, during the reign of seven kings of Portugal, although the first Dominican friars had already been living there since 1388. Its historical and monumental importance would be recognized by UNESCO, which classified it as a World Heritage Site in May 1983.
The self-guided-tour would be broken into 3 parts; the monastery, the imperfect chapels (unfinished church), and the main church.
Batalha monastery also has the tomb of unknown soldiers from WWI, so this place is very important for Portuguese army. There is a formal changing of the guard, and is treated very seriously. We watch and step back as a senior officer commands tourists to make way for the soldiers, oblivious tourists still want to take pictures, and are yelled at by a guy with a very large gun. We just stood at the back of the room and watched the whole thing happen.
The construction of the Pantheon of King Duarte, most commonly known as the Imperfect or Unfinished Chapels, is said to have begun around 1434, during the first year of this king’s reign.
The Main Church
From old, we went to even older, way older...
Conimbriga was an important settlement from the end of the Bronze Age, between the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st Millennium BC. having played an important role in the region throughout the Iron Age. The Roman conquest of the region took place with the campaigns of Decimus lunius Brutus Calaicus in 138-136 BC and, from that date, the integration of the city under Roman rule is evident in archaeological findings. The city was abandoned in the Middle Ages, and excavations started in 1899.
From very very old, we made our way to just old, the town of Montemor-o-Velho.
The Castle of Montemor-o-Velho has an extremely long history. In 911, al-Mansur conquered Montemor-o-Velho and it might have been then that an Islamic fortification with a mosque was built. There is almost nothing left from this ancient space and the castle which now rises upon the Mondego valley is the work of several medieval campaigns. In 1064, after Coimbra was conquered, Montemor-o-Velho was taken over by the Christians and King Alfonso VI of Castile might have rebuilt the defensive structure.
Santa Maria da Alcáçova Church was built inside the castle walls in 1090 by the priest Vermudo, and was rebuilt in the first quarter of the 16th century
The pictures don't do the brightness and range of rainbow colours any justice.
Mozarab Sesnado Davides as the Governor of Coimbra took advantage of the River Mondego and its principal tributaries, he created a forward defensive line for Coimbra, punctuated with castles and towers. In this way, the defensive Line of the Mondego was born. Others after him continued to build this defensive line including the Knights Templar, all to defend against the Muslim invasion.
Coimbra
We finally arrived at Coimbra NH Dona Ines Hotel, and were lucky enough to get one of the few free parking spots at the front of the hotel. This place was very nice, super comfy beds, and a short walk into the university town.
After a long and tiring day of travel, room service dinner was exactly what we needed.
March 10
Coimbra is a University town, so on another rainy morning we headed out into the street of Coimbra towards the University.
Colégio e Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo was built in 1541, by order of the Bishop of Porto, as a residence for clergy from the diocese of Porto who wished to attend University. In 1547 it was donated to the Order of Calced Carmelites, but was abolished by law in 1834, passing to the Venerable Third Order of Saint Francis, where it remains today.
Igreja e Mosteirode Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz Church and Monastery) is the pantheon of the country’s first two kings, this is one of Portugal’s most important churches. It’s part of a 12th-century monastery, but little remains of the original temple from 1131. Most of it dates from a major restoration in the 1500s, which followed the Manueline (Portuguese Gothic) style of the time.
The Cloister hidden in the middle of a city block
Back out into the rain
Sé Velha de Coimbra (Old Cathedral of Coimbra), started construction some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques declared himself King of Portugal and chose Coimbra as capital.
The University of Coimbra is one of the oldest in the world. By signing the "Scientiae Thesaurus Mirabilis", King Dinis created the oldest university in the country. The document, dated 1290, established the General Studies, which were recognised by Pope Nicholas IV in the same year. It began its activities in Lisbon, but in 1308 it was transferred to Coimbra, alternating between the two cities until 1537, when it was finally established in the city of the Mondego River.
Apparently the Spanish Siesta also applies to Portugal, between 1:00 and 2:00 everything is closed. All the staff, students and visitors pile into a small cafeteria waiting for things to open again.
There is 3 major facilities to see at the University, the Capela Universitária de São Miguel, the Palácio Real, and Biblioteca Joanina da Universidade de Coimbra. After being told that the Chapel was closed until 13:00, we also discovered that we have to buy a University pass, and book and entry time for the Library. After some frustrating moments bouncing between two different offices, I finally figured out how to do it online.
Capela Universitária de São Miguel (the Chapel of St. Michael of the University of Coimbra) dates back to the 16th century, probably built on an old 12th century chapel, in Manueline style. The Royal Chapel dedicated to Saint Michael was the headquarters of the Brotherhood of teachers and students. The Baroque organ with a case decorated with Chinese motifs, similar to those on the shelves of the Joanina Library, dates from 1737 and has more than 2,000 pipes. It is still in operation today.
We watched as several students painstakingly were restoring a golden statue using Q-Tips.
The Royal Palace was built at the end of the 10th century, serving as a fortress for the governor of the city during Islamic rule. In 1131, it became the first Portuguese royal household, the residence of Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. In 1537, during the reign of King John III, the University was permanently relocated from Lisbon to Coimbra, having been established in this building in 1544.
Biblioteca Joanina da Universidade de Coimbra (Joanina Library) construction began in 1717, on the site of the former prison of the Royal Palace, with the aim of housing the university library of Coimbra, and was completed in 1728 . Despite having been built as part of the royal project to reform university studies (a consequence of the spread of Enlightenment movements in Portugal ), the Joanina Library is recognised as one of the most original and spectacular European Baroque libraries.
Everything is timed, at exactly 3:00 the door is opened to enter the first area, a maze of stairs, jail cells and secret doors leading to a basic library area.
Finally, the doors open to the main library, with all kinds of "No Photos" instructions. Once again, I'll have to buy the postcards.
A truly unique story of the library is that it hosts a colony of bats. Every night, the windows of the library are left open and the bats come in to feed on insects, thereby protecting the centuries-old historic documents. Every morning, librarians clean the bat guano.
Feeling fully educated, we left the university and wandered down the hill through the botanical gardens that have been in Coimbra since 1772. Since the rain had stopped for a little bit, it seemed like a nice time for a walk in the park.
Mondego River's Green Park and the pedestrian Peter and Inês Bridge unite the left and right bank..
Portugal dos Pequenitos (Portugal for the Little Ones), started in 1938, was designed to teach more about the nation´s history, with houses and monuments built child size. There is miniature reproductions of traditional houses and replicas of National Monuments from the North to the South of the country, such as the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon, the Convento de Cristo in Tomar, the Torre de Belém in Lisbon and Coimbra University. There is also a group of buildings designed to illustrate the monuments of the Portuguese-speaking African Countries, Brazil, Macau, India and Timor, as well as the Azores and Madeira.
It was kind of silly, but at the same time gave us a refresher on the places we had seen, and what we would see. It was also really interesting to learn the Portuguese influence around the world.
Another brilliant rainbow, I guess when you see as much rain as we have so far, we're bound to see some rainbows.
After wandering around this theme park until our feet were soaked, it was time to cross back over the river, but not until we stopped at a local pastry shop.
One last stop on the way back was a cute little vintage store that Norine pointed out. I found a cool 55 Chevy car speaker that runs on Bluetooth, USB and even an FM radio. The store owner talked his own price down, and practically threw in a 57 Chevy license plate.
We had grand plans for going to a local Sushi restaurant, but our sore and tired feet decided we would try the restaurant in the hotel instead. Another night of packing as we head towards the historic town of Guimaraes in the morning.