Founded in 1290 by King D. Dinis, the University of Coimbra is the oldest Portuguese-speaking university and one of the oldest in the world. Originally, the University had 4 Faculties; Theology, Canons, Laws and Medicine, with its installations traveling between Lisbon and Coimbra for three centuries.

This is definitely established in Coimbra in 1537, during the reign of D. João III, settling in the current Palace of Schools in 1544.

In the eighteenth century, the University would receive its major reform since its foundation, with the implementation of the new statutes; Known as "Estatutos Pombalinos" in 1772. As a result of the vision of the Marquis of Pombal, these statutes led to the modernization of education, especially focus on science teaching component. For this purpose the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy was created and the teaching of medicine was reformed.

This set of renovations created the need to build new buildings and spaces to house the new studies. As such, at this time the Astronomical Observatory, Chemical Laboratory, the initial nucleus of the Botanical Garden, the Natural History Gallery, the Office of Experimental Physics and the University Press were built.

During the twentieth century, the University created new poles, being today spread throughout the city of Coimbra. There are currently 8 colleges (Letters, Law, Medicine, Science and Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Sport Sciences and Physical Education) and more than 22,000 students from all corners of the world.

With 730 years of history, the University of Coimbra is an unavoidable institution in the history of Portugal and the entire Portuguese-speaking world, having been considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, due to its unique material and immaterial heritage, fundamental in the history of Portugal. European and world scientific culture.

"Scientiae Thesaurus Mirabilis" - Foundation Document of the General Study

Chemistry Lab + Cabinet of Curiosities

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