The city's name is linked to Greek historians who called it Helmantiké, Hermándica and Salamántica It is situated in the South-west corner of Castilla y León on the borders with Extremadura and Portugal. The origins of this UNESCO World Heritage City hark back to Celtic times. This is a dynamic, welcoming city, where old and new, culture and work blend together seamlessly, allowing visitors and residents alike to enjoy the city fully.
A stroll through the streets of Salamanca lets one discover monuments, museums and buildings steeped in history and wisdom. The Plaza Mayor is one of Salamanca's jewels and one of the most important main squares in Spain; Writer James Michener rated it one of the three greatest plazas in the world. The Arcaded contains numerous medallions, such as Friar Luis de León and Unamuno, and others representing writers and professors of the University of Salamanca.
The University of Salamanca is one of the oldest such institutions in Spain and of major importance, even today it can claim to be one of Europe's most renowned universities. The creation of the so-called Estudio Salmantino (literally Salamanca Study), which was subsequently converted into the university by Alfonso X, was to prove the decisive event in Salamanca's emergence as a universally acknowledged city of culture. After this creation, four large colleges were built, such as the Colegio del Arzobispo Fonseca, and 28 smaller ones were also created.
Situated in the same Plaza de Anaya is the Cathedral of Salamanca, it is two temples joined together. Firstly, there is the Old Cathedral which attracts the eye of the visitor due to the beautiful tombs of the bishops' and members of the nobility. Adjoined by the New Cathedral from the 16th century, it houses the image of the Virgin of the Assumption and has remarkable choir-stalls. The ground plan of the Old Cathedral was altered when the New Cathedral was adjoined. Salamanca also boasts important churches and convents dating back to the period when all the professors at the University were monks. The Chapel of Santa Bárbara is where prospective Doctors of Philosophy would keep vigil the night before their final exam: if they passed they would ring the bells, whilst failure meant exit via the Carros door.
To even begin to apreciate Salamancas beauty we must look to the words of another; Unamuno "...plateresco rosal de otońo, con su encendida amarillez en la tarde del Renacimiento de la hojas..." ("plateresque autumnal rosebush, with its yellow light, illuminated in the evening Renaissance of the leaves). |
