2-370-986 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

West facade of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal, 2009. Coimbra Cathedral is the only one of the Portuguese Romanesque cathedrals from the Reconquista times to have survived relatively intact up to the present. Construction began in the mid 12th century after Afonso Henriques (Afonso I) declared himself King of Portugal with Coimbra as his capital. From the outside, the building looks like a small fortress, with its high, crenellated walls. There is a tower-like structure in the middle of the western facade with a portal and a similar-looking upper window. Both portal and window are heavily decorated with Romanesque motifs with Arabic and Pre-Romanesque influences.