Observatório Astronómico de Coimbra

The Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra was founded in 1772. In 1951, it was transfered to its present location, on the left margin of the Mondego River, on the hilltop of the town of Santa Clara, in a place called Almas de Freire.

The activities of the Observatory include research and public awareness of science. It has an interesting Museum (the collection is available online) and a Spectroheliograph that can be visited by the public.

University of Coimbra

The University that now exist in Coimbra was founded in 1290, in Lisbon. It is therefore one of the oldest of Europe. It came to Coimbra from 1308 to 1338, from 1354 to 1377, and definitively in 1537. Only after the republican revolution in 1910 did it leave the status of only Portuguese university, with the creation of the universities of Lisbon and Oporto.

Its main attractions are the Clock Tower (called "cabra", or the goat, by the students), that stands out at the top of Coimbra, the baroque Library (Biblioteca Joanina), and the night serenates of the traditional Fado of Coimbra, performed by the students of the university in their black capes.

The University of Coimbra provides a site with useful information for people visiting the city and its university.

Coimbra

Coimbra is one of the most important Portuguese cities. It is located on the margin of the river Mondego, the largest river born in Portugal, near fertile lands where rice is cultivated.

It was an important Roman town, called Aeminium. Very near, aproximately 15 km to the south, there was another important Roman town, called Conimbriga, whose ruins are the most important Roman ruins in Portugal, with nearly perfect mosaics, baths, fountains, a museum and a house as lived in by the Romans.

Coimbra has had an important role in the History of Portugal. The first Portuguese parliement was established in Coimbra in 1211. The first King of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, and Queen Isabel, the Saint Queen, are buried in Coimbra. It was in Coimbra that the most famous Portuguese love story of King Pedro and Inês de Castro developed. Many churches and monasteries testify the importance of Coimbra throughtout the centuries.

The modern Coimbra has grown around its university.