Monastery · Coimbra, Centre of Portugal
Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra)
Mosteiro de Santa Cruz · Igreja de Santa Cruz
The Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra was founded by canons of Saint Augustine and built from 1131, and its church holds the tombs of King Afonso Henriques and King Sancho I, according to the Centre of Portugal tourism board.
Why go
The Centre of Portugal tourism board says the monastery was founded in the reign of Afonso Henriques by twelve Canons of Saint Augustine and built from 1131, and that Afonso Henriques and then his son Sancho I chose it as their burial place. It attributes the present appearance mainly to a campaign financed by King Manuel and begun in 1507, with a façade designed by Diogo de Castilho and the royal tombs renewed by Nicolau Chanterenne. The board names the Silence Cloister (Claustro do Silêncio), the 17th-century sacristy with paintings by Grão Vasco and Cristóvão de Figueiredo, the upper choir and the Baroque organ among what can be seen. The church serves the parish of Santa Cruz, whose site gives its address as Rua Martins de Carvalho, 3. Whether the cloister, sacristy and choir are visited on a ticket was not found on the pages read.
Near Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra)
Church
Old Cathedral of Coimbra
The Old Cathedral (Sé Velha) is a Romanesque cathedral church in Coimbra, founded in the reign of Afonso Henriques according to the Centre of Portugal tourism board, and still a working parish church.
0 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Museum
Machado de Castro National Museum
The Machado de Castro National Museum is an art museum in Coimbra's former bishop's palace, built over the Roman cryptoporticus that supported the city's forum.
0 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Historic site
Paço das Escolas (University of Coimbra)
The Paço das Escolas is the former royal palace on the Pátio das Escolas in Coimbra's upper town that has housed the University of Coimbra since 1544, with the university tower and the great hall known as the Sala dos Capelos.
0 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
The Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha is the ruin of a Gothic Poor Clares' monastery on the left bank of the Mondego in Coimbra, excavated and reopened with an interpretation centre in 2009, according to the Centre of Portugal tourism board.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ