For the past two weeks, I traveled to Spain and Portugal. After traveling and reflecting on what was one of my favorite days, I kept coming back to Coimbra University.
Coimbra University is midway between Porto and Lisbon, and one of the oldest universities, older than Oxford. The university first started in Lisbon but was relocated to Coimbra in 1537 by King João II. The morning of our visit, we followed our guide to the fortress-like university located on a hilltop. The buildings consist of the 12th-century Cathedral of Santa Cruz, the Royal Palace of Alcacova, and the Joanine Library. I was awed by the splendid architecture and after hearing about the customs and traditions of the students, I was a tad bit jealous of the black Harry Potter capes.
We moved along to a private exam room where students sat in a big chair and a tomb of someone (I think it was one of the first rectors) lies in the middle of the room supposedly to bring good luck. The exams were taken at dusk and in secret. This room is no longer used.
The Grand Hall has a fantastical wooden ceiling and the walls are decorated with fabric and portraits of all the university rectors. Blue and white tiles line the wall under the portraits. Important ceremonies are held there and where students can defend their doctoral theses.
Our guide, who attended the university herself, pointed out grades were still publicly posted. Yikes!
The first floor housed the student prison or “Academic Prison”. If a student broke a rule or damaged a borrowed book, he was sent to the prison. However, that didn’t mean he skipped lessons. The prisoner went to lectures in the morning and then returned to his cell. This prison was used until the 19th century. Here is a picture of the “cat door” no longer in use. Skinny, hungry, street cats could enter here to take care of the mice!
The library was last. We had a reservation that allows about 50 people to be admitted at a time. The Baroque-style room houses more than 250 thousand books and some are handwritten. The thick walls keep the temperature low enough to preserve the text and so do the bats! Joanina Library and Mafra Palace Library are the only two in the world in which books are protected from insects because of bats. During the night, bats eat the insects. We could not take any pictures in this part of the library.
Our guide pointed out that the ceiling has four virtues depicted: honor, virtue, fortune, and reputation.
So, what is up with the black capes? Tradition! Students still like them. They do have a choice of not wearing them, but most choose to do so. Some capes have tears on them. If a student has tears on the left side, these are made from family members; the left side is for friends or lovers. If they end up falling out of love, then they need to sew the tear back up. At the end of the year, graduates can rip their capes and clothes off themselves, and others help them down to their underwear, and then they run naked. Their clothes, underwear and are strewn throughout the campus and also hung on gates, entrances, etc.
Portugal, I don’t know if I will ever return! I hope so! I think Portugal is one of the most underrated destinations!
“If there is one portion of Europe which was made by the sea more than another, Portugal is that slice, that portion, that belt. Portugal was made by the Atlantic.” – Hilaire Bell