República da Praça - Coimbra, Portugal - Fraternity and Sorority Houses on Waymarking.com

"Repúblicas" are university residences, originally in the town of Coimbra, which historical roots are deeper than they might appear. It was in 1309 that King D. Dinis decreed the creation of residences for university students, at the time located in the area of Almedina. A model of social housing for students was created, which, evolving, has remained until today.

In 1940 the Council of the Republics was created, an association representing all these communities. In 1957 they had their first modern legal framework. In the 1960s they became politicized, became strongholds of resistance to the regime, gave shelter to those persecuted by PIDE and there germinated revolutionary ideals.

After the 25th of April, the Republics moved away from one of their recent vocations - the organization of praxes - and became anti-praxis, with more recently some of them having a non-praxist position.

There are currently just over two dozen republics in Coimbra. In many ways they remain true to their usual principles. The libertarian and bohemian environment reigns in these communities and their management is done in a democratic way. Residents - "republics" - are considered equal in rights and obligations. In the 1940s and 1950s, community management was divided into ministries, each with its own minister. As you can see, the most demanding portfolio was that of the Minister of Finance of the Republic. At that time, it was customary for each house to have a lady to take care of most of the domestic work. The bonds between her and the students were deep, as if it were a connection between mother and children, and this relationship resulted in friendships for life.

Some of the Republics have rules for admitting residents. Some, reserved for students of certain colleges, others with female or male residents only. Some were created for students from specific regions of the country.

In recent years, the situation in some of these Republics has become dramatic, struggling with the pressure of real estate speculation accentuated by the excellent location that most of them enjoy. Fortunately, there are some defense and protection mechanisms, activated by adhering to the status of establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest.

The República da Praça, was founded on February 22 1989 and owes its name to the square in which it was originally installed: Praça da República, #38, 2nd floor.

It was founded as “solar” and its responsible were: Benjamim Lousada, Paulo Abreu Alves, Carlos Ramos and Mário Barata.

This house, although recently approved by the dean, existed as a “community house” at least since 1959.

It was linked to a litigation process concerning the lease, which ended with the intervention of the Rectory, and with the personal involvement of Professor Barbosa de Melo to assume the ownership of the lease of the since 1994 and the “republic” was recognized as an “association without legal personality”, according to
with the law.

Regarding the geographical framework, Praça da República, previously belonged to Quinta de Santa Cruz, owned by the “Crosiers” before the dismantling of the Church's religious assets, as a result of the Liberal Revolution.

The building where the “republic” is installed is typical of the transition from the 1st to the 2nd half of the 20th century.

Type: Co-Ed Name: Other (not Listed) Name (if other): República da Praça Affiliated Institution: Other (not listed) Affiliated Institution (if other): Universidade de Coimbra Chapter Designation: República da Praça Year of Establishment: 1989

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