Which of the large and small cities in Portugal is the most "cultural"? Not Lisbon, the first city, not Porto, not the third largest city, but Coimbra, the fourth largest city. This is known from a Portuguese proverb: "Have fun in Lisbon, work in Bordeaux, pray in Braga, study in Coimbra". Why is Coimbra, between Lisbon and Porto, the "City of Books" the Kingdom of Portugal?
Because it was once the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal; Because it is the birthplace of modern Portuguese; Because it is at the forefront of scientific research in Portugal, and because it is a World Heritage Site, the University of Coimbra has produced famous Portuguese poets and mathematical astronomers and Nobel laureates in physiology and medicine. The World Heritage Site once described the University of Coimbra as "an outstanding example of an integrated university town, with a unique typology of the city, as well as a ritual and cultural tradition that is steeped in history but still alive." ”
Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra
However, "birds want to fly high and flutter their wings first". Coimbra, located on the hill on the banks of the Mondego River, has the reputation of "the city of books" and must "come for the source of living water". This "living water" first came from ancient Rome, which laid the foundation of today's Western civilization.
It was the ancient Romans who founded Coimbra, and there are still well-preserved ancient Roman aqueducts and hidden corridors here, but at that time it was not the "heart" of Rome. When the Roman "heart" more than 10 kilometers away was sacked and abandoned by the barbarian Sovihui and Visigoths, Coimbra, located at the intersection of north-south traffic between Braga and Lisbon and connected inland and coastal by water, began to be converted to Christianity, and it became the seat of the episcopal diocese.
Coimbra
Coimbra
When the Moors arrived, they began to "build walls" in Coimbra, which for a time became the northern center of the Tajo Valley. Shortly after the Christians recaptured Coimbra, King Alfonso VI of Castile gave it to Henry, son of the Duke of Burgundy, who had married his illegitimate daughter. After their son Alfonso I established the Kingdom of Portugal, Coimbra was made the capital of the kingdom, while Lisbon was still in Moorish hands. From the first half of the 12th century to the middle of the 13th century, when Lisbon officially became the capital of Portugal, Coimbra was the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal for more than a century.
The capital of the kingdom was moved to Lisbon because of the fratricidal battle for the throne. Coimbra was the stronghold of King Sancho II, known as the "natural conqueror", and when he was revoked by the Pope as King of Portugal, his own brother Alfonso III immediately came from France to rebel against him. After two years of scuffle, Alfonso III ascended the throne and moved the capital to Lisbon, where Sancho II was not strong. It was this Alfonso III who finally completed Portugal's "Reconquista".
Coimbra
Coimbra
If these "living waters" were only "silent springs" for Coimbra, by the time of Dinish I, who brought economic and cultural prosperity to the Kingdom of Portugal, the "living waters" gradually became "endless Yangtze Rivers rolling". Because Alfonso III, born in the 13th century, lived in France for many years when he was young, and France at this time had already accepted the advanced culture of the Moors after the destruction of Toledo, Alfonso III was immersed in a much more advanced culture than Portugal. When he became king, he hired many famous French teachers to teach his children. As the eldest son of Alfonso III, Dinish I benefited a lot. He became the first "literati" king in Portuguese history, sometimes referred to as the "poet king". He took the baton from King Alfonso X of Castile, known as the "Wise Men", who was the most cultured king of the Iberian Peninsula by 40 years.
The 46-year reign of Dinish I profoundly changed everything in Portugal, planting the first seed for the future of Portugal to become a maritime empire. In addition to vigorously developing industry and commerce and signing free trade agreements with Britain, he also strongly advocated the cultivation of pine trees on the Atlantic coast, which later became important wood for shipbuilding in the Age of Discovery. Could it be that he had the special ability to know that these pine trees would come in handy more than a century later? I don't know, I only know that he founded the University of Lisbon in 1290, after which the university moved to Coimbra to break the monopoly of knowledge in medieval ecclesiastical schools. He also created a relatively mature Portuguese system at the University of Coimbra and made Portuguese the national written language. Since then, the Portuguese language of Coimbra has become the most standard Portuguese. Since the day the University of Coimbra settled in Coimbra, Coimbra, like Salamanca in Spain, has become the "City of Books" and the "City of Gold".
Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra
Who was ruling in the Kingdom of France at this time? It was Philip IV who forced the Pope to move the Holy See to Avignon. He had the Pope declare the wealthy Knights Templar heretical, and took the opportunity to embezzle the Order's property. Some of the Knights Templar who had run away came to Portugal and formed the "Knights of Christ", which later became the strong backing of the kings of Portugal. Prince Enrique, who ushered in the magnificent movement of the Age of Discovery, was the Grand Leader of the Order, and he used the Order's income for the cause of navigation and geographical discoveries.
King Dinish I pried Portugal's development track, allowing Portugal to accelerate through the wheels of history until it reached the pinnacle and stood at the center of the world stage. Today, the statue of Dinish I, who laid the foundation of the Portuguese Empire, stands in the middle of the square of the University of Coimbra.
We came to this university, so I navigated directly here. Knowing that parking was difficult, we parked a few hundred meters from the university, next to a Chinese restaurant, where our lunch was settled. I got out of the car and asked an elderly man if he had to pay for parking, after all, it was still early. He said yes and then he reached out for money, and this was the first time we met in Portugal. I couldn't afford to mess with the "little ghost" and gave him all the change in the car. Seeing him count money little by little, I am very sad.
Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra
From the map, our parking place was very close to the university. But who would have thought that this university was built on a hillside, we went to the side door, and the side door was closed, we had to climb a long circle from under the high wall to go up, along the way we saw that we could take the elevator up, but for a fee, the price was clearly marked 1 euro per person. Next to the elevator is a staircase that can be gone up and down, but it is blocked. This is also too strange, is Coimbra already poor to this? Two things add up to give us a very bad first impression of Coimbra.
At the end of the high slope is the Faculty of Chemistry and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, where money is required for each entrance. We went to the School of Chemistry, which had a small museum with all kinds of instruments, which was not surprising at all. Not far from the Department of Chemistry, there is a square square. The square is surrounded by classical buildings such as the chapel, the atrium terrace and the Capellos Pavilion, and the handsome statue of King Dinesh I stands on the square. He looked out towards the doorless entrance to the main entrance of the University of Coimbra, which had a long staircase leading to the statue. I stood under his statue for a long time, gazing at him and saluting him from my heart.
University of Coimbra
Statue of King Dinish I
University of Coimbra
Faculty of Chemistry, University of Coimbra
Faculty of Chemistry, University of Coimbra
Many of the buildings on the site of the University of Coimbra were originally palaces where the first generations of Portuguese kings lived, so they were either converted into school buildings or into the splendid Baroque Biblioteca Joanina. In the university, there are also unique student apartments and the Botanical Garden (Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra), built in the 18th century and integrated into the university's natural history department. The 20-hectare botanical garden is considered one of the largest and most beautiful in Portugal, with more than a thousand plants and flowers from all over the world, in addition to ponds and fountains, and a bamboo forest full of Asian influences, known as the "Bamboo Cathedral".
Such accumulation does not happen overnight, it takes hundreds of years. Although the University of Coimbra was founded at the end of the 13th century, its site changed between Lisbon and Coimbra until 1537, when Philip II of the Habsburgs became King of Portugal. The reign of Philip II, who was also King of Spain, coincided with the peak of the Spanish Empire, and Coimbra benefited and developed greatly. With the advent of the Enlightenment in the 17th century, a large number of Portuguese scholars traveled to France, and after returning to exchange at the University of Coimbra, it became the most advanced intellectual, cultural and educational center of Portuguese Enlightenment thought, and in the 18th century it became the most advanced collection of science, mathematics and medicine in Portugal. The formal dresses born here, including white shirts, black ties, black suits, black leather shoes and black cloaks, became the inspiration for the school uniforms of wizardry in the fantasy novel Harry Potter.
New Cathedral of Coimbra
Old Cathedral of Coimbra
Old Cathedral of Coimbra
Today, strolling through a clean university is a pleasure. Almost all the buildings in the university are pure white, which makes it look refreshing. In addition to the Faculty of Chemistry and the School of Medicine, the University also has the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Theology, which is next to The New Cathedral of Coimbra. Originally built in the mid-16th century, the church, like other buildings at the University of Coimbra, is located in the upper town of Coimbra's commanding point. After more than two centuries of remodeling, today the upper part of the façade is in Baroque style, with statues of 4 Jesuit saints standing there. The design of this church influenced the design of churches in the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
If the University of Coimbra, where the new cathedral is located, is a delight to the eye, the old town of Coimbra is decadent as we descend the alley to the Old Cathedral of Coimbra. The narrow alleys see the garbage and the buildings are not beautiful. However, it is the only well-preserved old cathedral in Portugal since the Reconquista. It was built in 1139 by Alfonso I, the founder of the Kingdom of Portugal, when he proclaimed himself King of Portugal and made his capital at Coimbra, in the Romanesque style, where the second king of the Kingdom of Portugal was crowned.
Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra
We continue our exploration in the labyrinth of the old town, passing through the medieval walled tower Torre de Anto to the Santa Cruz Church, where Portugal's first and second kings are buried, and which hides a tear-jerking love story. Pedro , grandson of Dinish I , fell madly in love with his queen's handmaiden and had 3 children with him, and Pedro's father, fearing problems with the legal succession of the kingdom, killed the maid , whose burial place was in this church. When Pedro came to power, he dug up the body of his maid, crowned her empress, and personally put a crown on her. Their love story was written into poetry by Portugal's greatest poet, Camões: "Original love, aka sadness".
Church of Santa Croce
Church of Santa Croce
Church of Santa Croce
Today, the interior of the Basilica of Santa Croce is inlaid with classic Portuguese blue tiles that tell stories related to religious themes, and this is the only church we saw on our trip to Portugal that is covered with tiles. We walked from the church to the Montegu River, which nurtures Coimbra, passing the small Coimbra train station along the way. Standing by the unclear Montegu River, you can see the landscape pedestrian bridge (Ponte Pedonal Pedro e Inês), another name for the "bridge that never arrives", built to commemorate the love story of Pedro and the maid. Not far from the bridge, there is a Quinta das Lágrimas (Creeps) where Pedro and his maids often tryst. The "fountain of tears" deep in the garden is said to be formed by the teardrops shed by the maid.
Coimbra Railway Station
Montegu River
Tear Manor
We kept wandering around the old town, from narrow alleys to bustling commercial streets, and we didn't see anything that pleased us. Although the old town of Coimbra was not as good as we expected, as we drove to Fatima, another pilgrimage site in Portugal, we had a beautiful view of the new city of Coimbra from the hill. It felt like the students sang in the sad Fado: "Coimbra tem mais encanto na hora da despedida (Coimbra tem mais encanto na hora da despedida" (Coimbra tem mais encanto na hora da despedida). We wish that Portugal's "City of Books" will echo in the sky of history with the sound of the bells of the Clock Tower and the bells of the University of Coimbra in the sky of history, like Salamanca, Spain's "City of Gold".
route
Coimbra route