Coimbra’s Old Cathedral

Where the second king of Portugal was crowned.

Coimbra (Aeminium in Roman times) has been a bishop’s seat since the 5th century, succeeding nearby Conímbriga. Despite its long history, there is no news of a cathedral until the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Coimbra, which began in 1164 on the initiative of Bishop Miguel Salomão. It was consecrated in 1184, although the rest of the building was not yet finished, and in 1185 the second king of Portugal, D. Sancho I, was crowned there. It is the only Portuguese Romanesque cathedral from the time of the Reconquista that has survived relatively intact to this day.

The design of the building is attributed to Master Roberto, of French origin, who directed the construction of the Lisbon Cathedral at the same time and visited Coimbra periodically. Master Bernardo, also French, later replaced him by Master Soeiro, an architect who later worked on other churches in the diocese of Porto. It has three naves, a slightly protruding transept, a lantern tower over the transept and a tripartite transept. This construction marks a break with the Romanesque cathedral scheme followed until then in the country (Braga and Porto) and the beginning of a new typology called the cathedrals of the South (Coimbra, Lisbon and Évora).

The cloister began to be built in 1218, during the reign of King Afonso II, and was one of the first Gothic buildings built in Portugal. Larger than usual, it was necessary to destroy part of the hillside in order to build it. It occupies a quadrangular area starting from the third section of the nave and extending beyond the perimeter of the transept. It has a vaulted floor and the arcades are made up of double pointed arches set on thin twinned columns with an upper oculus.

During the 16th century construction campaign, some innovations were introduced into the building, of which the Renaissance portals stand out, especially the Porta Especiosa, the greatest work of the architect João de Ruão and the sculptor Nicolau de Chanterenne, inspired by the Italian Renaissance.

Inside, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, also by João de Ruão, and the Chapel of St. Peter, attributed to Nicolau de Chanterenne, are worth mentioning. In the chancel, the gilded altarpiece in the flamboyant Gothic style was designed by the Flemish artists Olivier de Gand and Jean d’Ypres. The capitals decorated with plant and animal themes constitute the richest iconographic program of the Romanesque in Portugal. The absence of human figures and biblical scenes is probably due to the fact that they were the work of Mozarabic artists who had settled in Coimbra.

In the side naves, there are several tombs from the Gothic period (13th-14th centuries), one of the most notable being that of D. Vataça (or Betaça) Lascaris, a Byzantine lady who arrived in Portugal at the beginning of the 14th century, accompanying D. Isabel of Aragon, who was coming to marry King Dinis.
Contact

Address:
Largo da Sé Velha
3000-383 Coimbra
Telephone: +351 239 825 273

E-mail: igrejasevelha@gmail.com
Website: http://sevelha-coimbra.org/
Social Networks: https://www.facebook.com/SeVelha