Santa Clara-a-Velha Monastery
Open: 15th October-31st March: Tuesday to Sunday 09.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m. | 1st April-14th October: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 a.m.-6.00 p.m. (last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Monday; 1st January; Easter Sunday; Labour Day (1st May); 4th July (municipal holiday)
Classify as a National Monument, since June 16th of 1910, the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha is placed on the left side of river Mondego in Coimbra.
The more important factor for the construction of the Monastery on this place was the proximity to the river. However this proximity marked the history of the Monastery from the beginning to the present day. If, on the one hand, the presence of water was an asset to the monastic community and to the day-to-day life in the Royal Palace (built near the Mondego river), on the other hand, the cyclical floods of the Mondego, made life unbearable inside the walls, forcing to abandon definitive in 1677 and to the change for the new convent (Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova) in Monte Esperança. The last floods occured in January and February of 2016.
During the project of monument's recovery and valorisation, from 90's of the 20th Century, were detected gothic architectural structures in good condition that required an archaeological campaign to unveil a vast, varied and rich assets.
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