Portugal for the Young

Portugal dos Pequenitos (Portugal for Children) was built in Coimbra in 1940 to make Portuguese architecture and culture more accessible to children.  It "recreates in small scale and impressive detail traditional Portuguese architecture and history"  It's not been kept up terrifically, but it's still impressive, adorable and appealing.  I would have loved it as a kid or as a destination for my kids.  I was there on a very rainy day; the kids there were oblivious to the rain, reveling in the place. And it was huge.  A few highlights:

For scale.  It's hard to remember, though, since the buildings are all so perfectly replicated; details weren't compromised.

The Pena Palace in Sintra (more in a laer entry).  

Doll furniture of the times.

Replica of a palace in Lisbon.

Replica of a Portuguese town from the 1700s.  All operable, enterable, nothing cordoned off. 

Each has doors that open, with easy entry if you're under 4 feet.  Possible if over.  

Hard to see, but his had a little trellis on the right., with a little vine.   Little

More of the village.  It was huge and included a castle, a blacksmith, city hall, the butcher, the farmers, etc. 

In the little 1700s village there were animal pens, and kids could climb into the little pens and be the pig, cow, or goat.   And they did.  Felt a little creepy to be taking photos of other people's kids doing cute things.  

It even had a miniaturized formal garden, here with a little statue of favorite Queen Isabelle, who loved the poor and almost was done in by her husband for this love -- but the loaves of bread she was carrying under her cloak for the poor  miraculously turned into a bunch of roses, and she was saved..  

And a little church.

With little cloisters.  I'm stooping.

It carried the kid-appeal into the maritime and costume museums, too, so there were toy boats done in nice detail ,but nothing like the over-the-top models used by actual ship builders that we saw in the Maritime Museum. And Barbie/Ken dolls dressed int costumes of "the times".  Some were well done, some were just weird.

One of the weird ones, dressed ca. 1790s.

She "suggested" her children take part, and armed her children for the revolution in 1640, seen here "suggesting".

The favorite Queen Isabelle , with her bread/roses (above.), and a student at Coimbra University -- they dress in black.  

Weird:  "Early man" - wish this photo were better -- he's a ken doll with fuzz and a leaf glued on.  

One of the lovely, well-done ones.  

Bringing into focus Henry the Navigator (L), the one who brought Portugal to prominence in the 1500s , and Vasco Da Gama (R).

I loved this place, for its efforts and successes in making Portuguese history accessible to kids -- and to their adults.  The park also included much more -- the Portuguese colonies and their cultures -- Goa, Mozambique, lots of Brazilian cultures, too, and reflected connections with other countries.