Archive for the History & Culture Category

Carlos Paredes was born on February 16th 1925, in Coimbra. He grew up in an environment full of music and at the age of 4, began learning to play the guitar with his father, Artur Paredes, one of the great figures of the Portuguese guitar. In 1934,

The beautiful but tragic love story between D. Pedro and D. Inês de Castro has left an indelible mark on Portugal’s history and heritage. D. Pedro I, son of King D. Afonso IV and heir to the Portuguese throne, fell deeply in love with Inês de Castro,

Coimbra is associated with the legendary love story of Pedro and Inês but there are many other curious stories as a result, or not, of the people’s imagination. The Legend of Cindazunda, for example, duly documented, tells us the story of the city’s foundation. Aeminium, the ancient

Zeca Afonso, one of the most emblematic composers and singers of the song of Coimbra, was born in 1929, in Aveiro. He arrived in Coimbra at just 11 years old and it was here that he completed high school and attended the “Faculdade de Letras” of the University

Almalaguês, part of Coimbra’s council, just 12 km from the center of town, is a unique weaving center that places this small village in the panorama of Portuguese crafts. In Almalaguês, the majority of women dedicated themselves to the art of weaving, on their looms, often to

The “Casa da Cidadania da Língua” (“House of the citizenship of the language”, previously known as “House of the arch”), located in the old Uptown of Coimbra, more precisely at number 8 on “Rua Douror João Jacinto”, is a “space for reflection and action for the construction

About 40 years later, Coimbra recovers one of its most beautiful traditions: the Weddings of Queen Santa Isabel, Patroness of the City of Coimbra, returns to the city! The last Weddings of the Queen were celebrated in the early 1980s. Going back to the 1970s, Weddings were