Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha

The Monastery of Santa Clara of Coimbra was founded in the 1280s by Mor Dias as a house of the Order of the Poor Clares.

The works sponsored by the Queen started in 1316 on the same spot of the previous foundation and gave rise to the ensemble that exists today.

The nuns of the monastery responded by elevating the floor levels of the monastic buildings to reduce the damage caused by the floods.

Around 1612, as the river flooded the monastery every year, the nuns built an elevated pavement in the church halfway to the roof.

Finally, in 1647, as the frequent floods made life in the monastery impossible, King John IV ordered the nuns to abandon the structure.

After 1995, a large archaeological campaign led by the Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico cleared the mud and water from the ruins, which were found to be in a remarkable good state of conservation.

The excavations allowed for the recovery of a large number of architectural and decorative fragments and a better understanding of the monastery plan.

A portal on the South façade of the church connects it with the cloister ruins, which have been preserved up to the level of the double columns of the arches.

Her tomb, dated from circa 1330, displays her full-size recumbent figure over the lid and is by Aragonese sculptor Mestre Pero.