Salamanca – the university city

                                                                                         

Salamanca is located on the south-western edge of the Castile-Leon autonomous community, close to the Portuguese border. The city is rather a big one (about 180000 citizens) but at the same time, it keeps the atmosphere of rural intimacy. Salamanca citizens speak the purest language in Spain – Castille language – that is why Salamanca is extremely popular with those who want to study Spanish.
Say the word “Salamanca”, and it will bring over thoughts of the golden age, the glory of the brilliant and educated Spain. Cervantes, Calderon and Lope de Vega sat on the benches of one of the oldest and most prestigious European universities. The year 1218 was extremely important for the city, as that year, Alfonso IX created the University of Salamanca. As for the period prior to 1812, its destiny was the following: first it was a small “capital” for a Celtic tribe that in the III century was conquered by legendary Hannibal, then one of the points on the Roman “Silver Way” – one illustration for this is the bridge over the Tormes River. In 1085, the Moors were finally banished from here by the Christians, who inhabited the territory and started their construction works – at that time the old cathedral and a number of Romanesque churches appeared. Thanks to the great amount of golden-brown stone, which was used to build the city in the beginning of the XIII century, Salamanca has lots of architectural monuments.
Among them you will find the Monastery of San Esteban. The church impresses with its dimensions and the altar by Churriguera. The monastery was built in the XVI century by a powerful Dominican order and here Christopher Columbus spent the last hours before he set off to his voyage for America. The discoverer found his true allies here, who helped him gain queen Isabella’s attention. Now this building is occupied by the faculty of Dominican theology.
Built in the XVII century, Jesuit College is located on Compañía street (now The Clergy and Pontifical University can be found here). Its austere towers contrast with beautiful altar images of gilded wood inside the building.
Casa de las Conchas palace was build in the XV century by the knight of the Santiago order. “Concha” is translated from Spanish as “sea shell” – this is actually the order’s symbol, so the name of the house can be translated as “the shell house”.
The House of the Dead (or Casa de los Muertos) was built in the XVI century and has been uninhabited for a long time as it was reputed as the cursed one. It is adorned with lots of dead men’s heads – this is where its name comes from. Still, those heads are rather graceful.
El Placa Mayor is the city’s geographic center, often called one of the most beautiful Spanish squares. Created in 1729 by Churriguera’s project, it is surrounded by Baroque buildings, with cafes and shops hiding inside their lacy arcades.
With such a great number of attractions, it is no wonder that in 2002 Salamanca was named the cultural European capital.

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