Portugal El Camino - 2016

---

Day 13 – September 5, 2016 - Coimbra, Portugal – Rest Day – 0.00 Miles

After a good night’s sleep and a wonderful breakfast, Harlan, Karen and I made our way through the very narrow streets of Coimbra and walked uphill to the University of Coimbra where we purchased a ticket to view The Tower, S Michael’s Chapel and The Old (Joanine) Library.

We made our way up the 174+ curved steps to the top of The Tower where we were able snap some great views of the city. The original purpose of the tower was to serve as an astronomical observation site which is the reason for the “roofless” top, uncommon in other similar towers around the world. The University’s daily life has been regulated by the bells of the tower, the oldest being from 1561. By tradition the bells always went 15 minutes behind the other clock towers of the city, in order not to confuse the inhabitants and students regarding their daily obligations and duties.

Next we viewed the inside of the S Michael’s Chapel which was built in 1733 and is a popular venue for catholic weddings, both for locals and alumni. Inside the walls are covered with Azulejo tiles and there is an amazing Iberian organ in Baroque style with approximately 2000 pipes.

Then it was on to view The Old (Joanine) Library which unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos. Walking through the front door it was so amazing to see all the old books arranged on the shelves. There are currently over 60,000 books in the library, most of which are written in Latin before the 18^th century. The library’s walls are constructed in such a way as to provide temperature control for the building. All the wood in the library is oak which makes it hard for insects to penetrate it. There is a colony of bats who live in the library that come out at night and eat the insects so they have to cover the books each night to avoid being damaged by the bats droppings. The middle floor is used to keep books which only a restricted group of staff have access. The underground floor was used as the academic prison where students served time for having committed disciplinary offenses.

After viewing these three areas of the university, I made my way back down the hill and walked along the river to our hotel.

---

Comments

[Bob Ferguson]

Coimbra
We really enjoyed the University. We're there a lot of students there this time of year? It was crowded when we were there and watching the young people was fun.

[Luv2Walk]

University of Coimbra
No we did not see many students. Don't think the year had started yet.