University of Coimbra

university, Portugal

Also known as: Universidade de Coimbra

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June 17, 2026

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Dinis Dinis, statue at the University of Coimbra, Port.

The University of Coimbra, established in 1290, is Portugal's oldest university and has been permanently located in Coimbra since 1537. It was originally founded as a studium generale by King Dinis of Portugal. The university's chapel features a carved door from 1517–22 and a Baroque library, built between 1716–23, which houses one million volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. Among its notable holdings is a first edition of Luís de Camões' epic poem, Os Lusíadas. The university's library is considered historically important.123

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Coimbra
…settled at Coimbra as the Universidade de Coimbra in 1537. Its chapel has a magnificently carved door (1517–22) and a richly decorated Baroque library (1716–23), which has 1,000,000 volumes and 3,000 manuscripts, among them a first edition of Luís de Camões’s epic Os Lusíadas (1572; “The Portuguese”). In the early…
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…settled at Coimbra as the Universidade de Coimbra in 1537. Its chapel has a magnificently carved door (1517–22) and a richly decorated Baroque library (1716–23), which has 1,000,000 volumes and 3,000 manuscripts, among them a first edition of Luís de Camões’s epic Os Lusíadas (1572; “The Portuguese”). In the early…
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Portugal
The kingdom and the Reconquista
He founded the University of Coimbra (at first in Lisbon) in 1290 and was both a poet and a patron of literature. Yet he was especially famed as the rei lavrador (farmer king) for his interest in the land.
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He founded the University of Coimbra (at first in Lisbon) in 1290 and was both a poet and a patron of literature. Yet he was especially famed as the rei lavrador (farmer king) for his interest in the land.
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Portugal
Education
…private universities, including the long-established University of Coimbra (originally founded in Lisbon in 1290, relocated permanently to Coimbra in 1537), the University of Lisbon (founded 1911), the Technical University of Lisbon (founded 1930), the University of Porto (founded 1911), and the Portuguese Catholic University (founded in 1968 in Lisbon). There…
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…private universities, including the long-established University of Coimbra (originally founded in Lisbon in 1290, relocated permanently to Coimbra in 1537), the University of Lisbon (founded 1911), the Technical University of Lisbon (founded 1930), the University of Porto (founded 1911), and the Portuguese Catholic University (founded in 1968 in Lisbon). There…
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