University of Coimbra

About this place

The University of Coimbra is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the oldest in continuous operation in the world. King Denis chartered it in 1290 in Lisbon, and it moved to Coimbra for good in 1537. Its historic seat, the Paço das Escolas, crowns the hill at the centre of the city and was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2013. The building began as a fortified palace raised in the late 10th century. From 1131 it was home to Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, becoming the country's first royal palace, and almost all the kings of the first dynasty were born there. The university's faculties moved in by 1544, and the university bought the palace in 1597. Its alumni include Portugal's national poet, Luís de Camões. Visitors enter the wide courtyard, the Pátio das Escolas, through the Porta Férrea gate of 1634. Above the courtyard runs the Via Latina, a colonnaded gallery whose present form dates from 1773, and the university tower, built between 1728 and 1733, rises over it. From the courtyard the view opens over the city's red roofs and the Mondego River. Visitors walk the courtyard, climb the tower, which now serves as a lookout over the city, and see the Great Hall, once the palace throne room and today the setting for the university's most important ceremonies. The university is still at work, with more than 25,000 students.