Why are tables covered at night?

To protect them from bat droppings

Why are the walls so thick?

To keep temperature and humidity steady

What was beneath the library?

An academic prison for students

Joanina Library Quiz: Coimbra's Baroque Books and Bats

This Joanina Library quiz steps into the golden reading rooms of the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Play 10 interactive questions on King John V, building from 1717 to 1728, gilded wood and chinoiserie, thick walls and teak doors, bats that eat book-damaging insects, covered tables at night, the student prison below and the university's UNESCO listing.

Start Joanina Library Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

City
Which Portuguese city is the Joanina Library in?
King
Which king is the library named after?
Built
When was the library built?
Style
What style is the interior?
Bats
What lives inside the library at night?
Tables
Why are tables covered at night?
Walls
Why are the walls so thick?
Doors
Which wood was used for the heavy doors?
Prison
What was beneath the library?
UNESCO
When did the University of Coimbra become a UNESCO site?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which Portuguese city is the Joanina Library in?
Answer: Coimbra
It belongs to the city's old university.
Q2: Which king is the library named after?
Answer: John V
Joanina comes from João.
Q3: When was the library built?
Answer: 1717 to 1728
Brazilian gold paid for much of it.
Q4: What style is the interior?
Answer: Baroque with gilded wood
Shelves glow with gold.
Q5: What lives inside the library at night?
Answer: A colony of bats
They eat insects that harm books.
Q6: Why are tables covered at night?
Answer: To protect them from bat droppings
Staff clean each morning.
Q7: Why are the walls so thick?
Answer: To keep temperature and humidity steady
They are over two meters thick.
Q8: Which wood was used for the heavy doors?
Answer: Teak
It helps seal the rooms.
Q9: What was beneath the library?
Answer: An academic prison for students
Unruly students were jailed there.
Q10: When did the University of Coimbra become a UNESCO site?
Answer: 2013
Its buildings and traditions were honored.

Gilded Shelves and the Bats That Guard the Books

The Joanina Library belongs to the University of Coimbra, one of the oldest universities in Europe. It was built from 1717 to 1728 and named after King John V, whose wealth from Brazilian gold paid for its gilded Baroque interior, decorated with chinoiserie and painted ceilings.

The library's walls are over two meters thick and its heavy doors are made of teak, helping keep temperature and humidity steady for the books. Most famously, a colony of small bats lives inside. At night they eat insects that could damage the pages, so staff cover the tables to protect them from droppings.

Beneath the library lies an academic prison where unruly students were once jailed. The University of Coimbra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, and students still wear traditional black capes. Visits to the library are timed and short to protect its fragile climate.

What This Quiz Teaches

Book fans will enjoy these questions.

Who built the library
How it is decorated
How the books are protected
What lies beneath it
How the university is recognized

Did You Know?

Photography inside the library is usually not allowed.
The university's tower bell once called students to class.
Coimbra was Portugal's capital in the Middle Ages.
Fado of Coimbra is sung by men in student capes.
The Paço das Escolas was once a royal palace.