Universidade de Coimbra

The University of Coimbra was established in the 13th century 1290. It is an indisputable reference in higher education and research in Portugal, due to the quality of the courses taught at its eight Faculties and to the advances achieved in pure and applied research in various areas of knowledge, in Portugal and in the world. This university is the oldest one in Portugal. It was built by King John III and a monument was built in remembrance of him near the university's library. The library is filled with thousands of books in which many need a ladder in order to reach. In the old days catalogs were not used to find books. Instead they had paintings on the ceilings as well as numbers above each bookshelf to help the locate books. Also, we were informed by our guide, Clara that the library was home to the local bats during the day. At night they fly around freely throughout the library and feed on tiny insects. It was evident the classes at this university were large and the seating seemed quite uncomfortable. I will have to say that our padded seats are much comfortable than the cold, wooden benches.