Novos Olhares

When discovering Coimbra, no one can remain
indifferent to the robust size of that building, which
looks more like a castle, with high walls crowned with
battlements and small, narrow windows. Visiting
Coimbra’s Old Cathedral is like going back to the
beginning of Portugal’s history when, after the Battle
of Ourique in 1139, Afonso Henriques declared himself
the first King of Portugal and ordered the construction
of Coimbra Cathedral, where he established the
Kingdom’s capital. It is the only Romanesque
Portuguese cathedral from the Reconquest period that
has survived relatively intact to the present day.
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