2. The city, located over a hill by
the Mondego River, was
called Aeminium in Roman
times. The Moors occupied
Coimbra around the year
711, turning it into an
important commercial link
between the Christian north
and Muslim south. The city
was conquered by Ferdinand
I of León in 1064.
3. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better
known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in
Europe and the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world. The
city of Coimbra is one of the most important urban centres in Portugal (after the
much larger cities of Lisbon and Porto, and the growing Minho Metropolitan area,
centered around Braga), playing a central role in the northern-central part of the
country.
7. Afonso I (1109 – 1185), more commonly known as Afonso Henriques nicknamed "the
Conqueror"
After being conquered by the Christians, Coimbra became the capital of a
new County (County of Coimbra), governed by the Mozarab Sesnando
(Sisnando Davides), later incorporated into the County of Portugal. In the
mid-12th century, the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, turned
Coimbra into the capital of the new Kingdom, a condition the city would keep
until the year 1255. Many important monuments of the city date from this
early period, like the Old Cathedral, the Church of St. James (Igreja de
Santiago) and the Santa Cruz Monastery, which was the most important
Portuguese monastic institution at the time.
12. As early as the Middle
Ages, Coimbra was divided
into an upper city (Cidade
Alta or Almedina), where
the aristocracy and the
clergy lived, and the low city
(Cidade Baixa) by the
Mondego River, where
most commercial activities
took place.
13. Cidade Alta or Almedina Porta de Almedina (upper city)
The city
was
encircled
by a
fortified
wall, of
which
some
remnants
are still
visible like
the
Almedina
Gate
(Porta da
Almedina)
15. Celestino Alves André and his
Tricana of Coimbra The Tricana of Coimbra by Celestino Alves André
16. The Tricana of Coimbra literally means "wife of Coimbra". She is an
important symbol in the city. In the past women like her would bring water
or other goods, like eggs or bread, in her earthen ware jar from the lower
city to the upper city. She provided an essential service to its citizens. The
statue is placed in a spot where a typical wife of the city could rest before
continuing her journey up the steep streets (under the Almedina Arc and
up).
17. It seems that those tricanas of
Coimbra became more
famous in other regions of
Portugal because of the
attraction between them and
the young students of the
University of Coimbra. The
Tricanas were the inspiration
for many poets in Coimbra
23. Cafe Santa Cruz
The opening of the luxurious
Santa Cruz Café on 8 May 1923
made headlines in Coimbra’s
newspapers. The date was
chosen in honour of the café’s
location in Praça 8 de Maio (8
May Plaza). The building dates
back to 1530 and was originally
built as a parish church. Since
then it has undergone many
transformations and has been a
hardware store, police station and
fire station. Today the Santa Cruz
Café retains its unique and
traditional atmosphere making it
the perfect place to enjoy a Fado
show, Portugal’s famous
traditional music. You will enjoy
VIP seats and a delicious
traditional sweet treat to sample
as you enjoy the show. Afterwards
you will be taken on an exclusive
guided tour of this historic and
fascinating building.
34. The two banks of
Mondego river at
Coimbra, are linked by
three main bridges: the
Ponte do Açude; the
Ponte de Santa Clara
(Santa Clara bridge),
which is the oldest, and
the Ponte Rainha Santa
also known as Ponte
Europa, finished in 2004.
The Ponte Pedonal de
Pedro e Inês is the
ultimate bridge being
constructed and is the
only footbridge in the
city.
42. Coimbra is better known for its university, the University of Coimbra
43. Ponte Pedro e Inês, named in honour of the medieval lovers
44.
45. Designed by the engineers Cecil Balmond and Adão da Fonseca, and opened in
November 2006, the bridge, part of the Polis Programme, was built to connect the right
and left banks of the Mondego. 275 metres long and 4 metres wide, it has a ‘square’ in
the middle, 8 metres wide. The walkway is of wood, and the side railings support yellow,
blue, green and pink glass panels. The bridge is already an architectural icon: specialists
have seen it as “revolutionary but elegant”, “a piece of engineering audacity”.
46.
47.
48. The Ponte Rainha Santa
Isabel also known as Ponte
Europa, finished in 2004
56. Quinta das
Lágrimas was the
stage for the
legend of Prince
Pedro and Inês de
Castro. The facts
were passed in
Coimbra over 650
years ago. Pedro
was the heir to the
throne occupied by
his father, King
Dom Afonso IV.
Inês was a
gallician lady and
daughter of Pedro
Fernandez de
Castro
58. The wife of Pedro, Constance
of Castile, died in 1345. Afonso
IV tried several times to
arrange for his son to be
remarried, but Pedro refused to
take a wife other than Inês,
who was not deemed eligible to
be queen. Peter's legitimate
son, future King Ferdinand I of
Portugal, was a frail child,
whereas Peter and Inês's
illegitimate children were
thriving; this created even more
discomfort among the
Portuguese nobles, who feared
the increasing Castilian
influence over Peter. Afonso IV
ordered that Inês de Castro
should be put to death in
Pedro’s absence.
Deeply hurt by his father’s
verdict, Pedro rebelled and his
troops swept the country to the
point of besieging Oporto. A
few months later father and son
signed a peace where Pedro
declared that he forgave Inês’
murderers
59. As soon as Pedro became
king and in spite of his
promises of forgiveness, he
captured the assassins of
Inês, who had fled to
Castile to avoid his fury.
One of them managed to
escape but the other two
were captured, tortured and
executed. Dom Pedro had
their hearts ripped out, one
from the back and the other
from the chest. In 1360 the
king announced that he had
married Inês secretly, and
he then ordered their
graves to be built in the
Monastery of Alcobaça,
where he would also be
buried. Legend has it that
he had Inês's body
exhumed from her grave
and forced the entire court
to swear allegiance to their
new queen by kissing the
corpse's hand.
60. During the fourteenth
century, the woods around
Quinta das Lágrimas were
hunting grounds of the royal
family, that was by that time
living in Coimbra. This was
the place where Pedro and
Inês used to meet, always
secretely, so that nothing
and no one would disturb
their love. Inês, who was
extremely beautiful, lived in
the Convent of Santa-Clara-a-
Velha, about 500 metres
from the Quinta.
There is at Quinta das
Lágrimas a brook called “dos
amores” (of love) which ends
at the Convent. This stream
would carry the love letters
from Pedro to Inês.
According to the legend,
Pedro placed his letters in
small wooden boats that
transported them by the
stream to the hands of Inês
61. When Pedro took her body to the
monument in Alcobaça, he ordered
a burial march where the entire
nobility had to participate. Once in
Alcobaça, Inês is supposed to have
been crowned (Camões said that
“she was made Queen after
death”) and the nobles were forced
to kiss her hand.
62. Inês was murdered by Afonso IV’s
three men. The story tells that she
was “quietly resting” when the three
men attacked her and stabbed her
to death. Her tears created the
“Fonte das Lágrimas” (Fountain of
Tears), where stains of her blood
remain forever engraved on the
rock.
The story of Pedro and Inês
has been told over and over
again throughout the
centuries by the most brilliant
writers in the world. Camões
dedicated a great part of the
“Lusíadas” to the legend of
Inês de Castro but other
names, Portuguese as well as
foreign, left in their works
testimony of this episode of
Portuguese History. Among
them we can quote Voltaire,
Victor Hugo, Ezra Pound,
Stendhal, Agustina Bessa-
Luis and Henri de
Montherlant, to mention only
a few. Over the years, the
hotel has been acquiring a
number of works of art
inspired in Pedro and Ines
and created by some of
Portugal’s leading artists. The
most remarkable include the
statue of Ines by João
Cutileiro, the paintings by Luís
Pinto-Coelho and a large
sculpture by Joana
63. Tomb of Ines de Castro in Alcobaça
Inês's murder in the monastery of Santa Clara
Quinta das Lágrimas
The origin of the estate is uncertain. It is known that it was a hunting ground for the Portuguese royal family and that it later belonged
to the University of Coimbra and afterwards to a religious order. It was acquired by the Osório Cabral de Castro family in 1730, by
whose order the palace was built. In 1879 a large part of the palace was lost during a fire. It was rebuilt in the late nineteenth century
by Miguel Osório Cabral de Castro, in a style different from that of the original.
65. Text And pictures: Internet
Copyrights of the photos belong to each photographer
Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu
www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda
Sound: Coimbra - Amália Rodrigues
