University of Coimbra

By signing the “Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis”, D. Dinis created the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in the world. Dating back to 1290, the document gives rise to the General Study, which is recognized in the same year by Pope Nicholas IV. It starts operating in Lisbon, being transferred definitively to Coimbra in 1537, by order of King D. João III, after a period of migration between these two cities. It is in the Royal Palace of Alcáçova, later the Paço das Escolas, that all the Faculties of the University of Coimbra – Theology, Canons, Law, and Medicine – are located.

Today, the University of Coimbra has eight Faculties, extended to the city of Coimbra, and more than 22 thousand students.

With a unique material and intangible heritage, fundamental in the history of European and world scientific culture, since 2013 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.