Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
treats are
pastel de Santa Clara
(pastry made with almonds and marmalade) and
pastel
de Tentúgal
(rolls of puff pastry stuffed with eggs and cream, and dusted with powdered
sugar, €1 each). In the center of the square is a statue of the prime minister who, in 1834,
shut down the city's convents and monasteries, and earned the nickname “friar killer.”
• Stroll down Rua de Ferreira Borges—pedestrianized and a delight since the 1990s.
After a 200-yard-long gauntlet of clothing stores, take the stairs (to your left) leading to
a terrace overlooking the square below (pay public WC,
sanitários,
in the stairwell).
Coimbra in History
1064
Coimbra is liberated from the Moors.
1139
Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, makes Coimbra his capital.
1211
Portugal's first parliament of nobles
(cortes)
convenes at Coimbra.
1256
Lisbon replaces Coimbra as Portugal's capital.
1290
The university is founded under “the poet king,” Dinis (r. 1279-1325). Originally in
Lisbon, it moved to Coimbra in 1308.
1537
The university, after moving back to Lisbon, finally settles permanently in Coimbra
under Jesuit administration.
1810
Napoleon's French troops sack Coimbra, then England's Duke of Wellington drives
them out.
1928
António Salazar, a professor of political economy at Coimbra, becomes Minister of
Finance and eventually dictator of Portugal.
