Coimbra

Coimbra, capital of the Portuguese province of Beira, on a hill above the river Mondego, here crossed by a stone bridge, 135 miles NNE. of Lisbon by rail. Its streets are steep, narrow, and dirty, its manufactures confined chiefly to earthenware and combs, and its interest consists mainly in its historical associations. The place derives its name from the Roman Conimbria, traces of which lie to the south; it was held by the Goths, and from them passed to the Moors, from whom it was finally conquered in 1064, by Fernando the Great, aided by the gallant Cid. Coimbra was the capital of Portugal for about two centuries and a half from its erection into a kingdom, in 1139, and many of the early kings are buried in and around the old town. Of the public buildings, the most noteworthy are the older of the two cathedrals, the church of San Salvador, and the ruined convent of Santa Clara; across the river is the Quinta das Lagrimas ('House of Tears'), where Inez de Castro (q.v.) was murdered. The university of Coimbra, the only one in Portugal, was originally established at Lisbon in 1288, but was permanently transferred here in 1537. It has five faculties and some 900 students, and is still held in repute; attached to it are a museum, an observatory, a botanical garden, and a library of 60,000 volumes. Pop. 13,369.