Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal
by Pablo Lopez
Title
Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal
Artist
Pablo Lopez
Medium
Photograph - Digital Image
Description
The Old Cathedral of Coimbra (Se Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Se 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.
Coimbra (the Roman city of Aeminium) has been the seat of a bishopric since the 5th century, after neighbouring Conimbriga was invaded and partially destroyed by the invading Sueves in 468. Almost nothing is known of the cathedrals that preceded the Se Velha in Coimbra. In 1139, after the Battle of Ourique, King Afonso Henriques decided to finance the building of a new cathedral, given the bad shape of its predecessor. The definitive impulse to the project was given by Bishop Miguel Salomao, who helped pay for the works. In 1185, King Sancho I, second King of Portugal, was crowned in the new cathedral, indicating that the building work was in an advanced state. The basic building was finished in the first decades of the 13th century, even though the cloisters were begun only in 1218, during the reign of King Afonso II.
The project of the Romanesque cathedral is attributed to Master Robert, a – possibly – French architect who was directing the building of Lisbon Cathedral at that time and visited Coimbra regularly. The works were supervised by Master Bernard, possibly also French, who was succeeded by Master Soeiro, an architect active in other churches around the Diocese of Porto.
In the 16th century there were many additions to the cathedral. The chapels, walls and pillars of the nave were covered with tiles, the monumental Porta Especiosa was built in the north side of the facade, and the southern chapel of the apse was rebuilt in Renaissance style. The basic architecture and structure of the Romanesque building was, nevertheless, left intact. In 1772, several years after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal by the Marquis of Pombal, the seat of the bishopric was transferred from the old medieval cathedral to the Mannerist Jesuit church, thereafter called the New Cathedral of Coimbra (Se Nova de Coimbra).
Coimbra Cathedral is the only one of the Portuguese Romanesque cathedrals from the Reconquista times to have survived relatively intact up to the present. The cathedrals of Porto, Braga, Lisbon and others have been extensively remodelled over time.
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August 24th, 2021
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