Not our name, but our passion
The Jerónimos Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in Lisbon, Portugal. The monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby Tower of Belém, in 1983.
Cleopatra’s Needle in London is one of three similarly named Egyptian obelisks and is located in the City of Westminster, on the Victoria Embankment near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. It is close to the Embankment underground station. It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London. The obelisk is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. The obelisk was originally erected in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis on the orders of Thutmose III, around 1450 BC. The best view of the obelisk is seen from the river.
São Bento Railway Station is a 20th-century railway terminal in the city of Porto, Portugal. The English translation of São Bento is Saint Benedict. The station is located in the Historic Center of Porto, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as a National Monument of Portugal. This building was constructed over a number of years, starting in 1904, based on plans by architect José Marques da Silva. The large panels of azulejo tile were designed and painted by Jorge Colaço; they were completed in 1916 and the station was then inaugurated. The murals represent moments in the country’s history and the multicolored panels depict rural scenes showing the people of various regions.
The spectacular Catholic Church; Igreja de Santo Antonio dos Congregados is just outside the station.
The University of Coimbra is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. Established in 1290 in Lisbon, it went through a number of relocations until it was moved permanently to its current city in 1537, being one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world, the oldest university of Portugal, and one of the country’s largest museums of higher education and research institutions. The university is organized into eight different faculties according to a wide range of fields, granting academic bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in nearly all major fields of knowledge, such as arts, engineering, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, medicine, sports and technologies. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Directly across from the Museum Nacional de Machado de Castro are the steps leading up to the University.
View from up the street.
We walked past many interesting old buildings not sure what they all were maybe various departments of the campus.
We next purchased tickets to tour the Biblioteca Joanina. On our way to the library we passed several more buildings. Click on the highlighted links for in-depth posts on each component of the university.
We finally reached the library after a long walk. The route to the library begins in the basement. We watched a video about the University Academic Prison, fascinating.
We next entered the library the outer portion of which allowed photography.
The inner library does not allow photography but the attendant was sleeping so I managed to snap a few.
Outside the library, the main library door.
View of the city from the terrace outside the library.
The square had a statue to Dom João III.
The Chapel of St. Michael is in the Manueline or Portuguese late Gothic style.
Ceiling,
altar left side,
altar middle,
altar right side.
As we exited we passed a cafeteria area for students only.
Leaving the chapel we passed the law school entrance,
and other buildings and statues.
The medical school.
The statue of Dom Dinis.
That completed our tour, well deserving of UNESCO World Heritage status.
The Old Cathedral of Coimbra (Sé Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques declared himself King of Portugal and chose Coimbra as capital. The first Count of Coimbra, the Mozarab Sisnando Davides, is buried in the cathedral.
