Salamanca Capital City

Not only full of spectacular buildings, most in pristine condition and dating from the days of the Roman and Moorish occupations and beyond, Salamanca is also the city in which resides the oldest university of Spain. In 1988 Salamanca was officially declared a World Heritage city.

An ancient university town to the north-west of Madrid, Salamanca has had a long history. The Carthaginians first conquered the city in the 3rd century B.C. but, after their defeat during the 2nd Punic Wars, Salamanca then became a Roman settlement before being ruled by the Moors until the 11th century.

Pre-Roman remains are found in many areas of the city, especially along the ‘Calzada de la Plata’ or ancient ‘Silver trading routes’ which, passing through Salamanca, united Mérida, Astorga, with northern Spain.

During the Roman occupation the city was known as ‘Salmántica’ and belonged to the Roman province of Lusitania. One of its claims to fame is that during the 2nd Punic War the feared and gifted Carthaginian general, Hannibal, besieged the city.

Between the 7th and the 11th century Salamanca came under Muslim rule. Once the Christian rulers to the north became more organised, however, an intense period of military rivalry commenced with the city being taken and retaken several times by both sides. It was definitively conquered in 1085 by the great pro-European king Alfonso VI who placed the colonisation of this part of his kingdom in the hands of his son-in-law, Count Raimundo de Borgoña who had married to his first-born, Doña Urraca, in 1096. During this time the city was granted its first municipal charter.

In 1218 Alfonso IX de León founded what was to become the University of Salamanca, an institution that soon received great favours from Fernando el Santo and Alfonso X ‘The Wise’ who established the number and type of chairs the University was to be composed of. In 1254, Pope Alexander IV called the University of Salamanca "one of the four leading lights of the world".

Salamanca was badly damaged during the Peninsula War. From 1808 to 1811 it was open to the armies who disputed the hegemony of Europe on Spanish soil. The last great event here was the battle of Arapiles, which took place at the very gates of the city and in which Wellington defeated Napoleon's army. This led to the withdrawal of the latter from Spanish territory. The fighting heavily scarred the Salamancan skyline and many architectural treasures such as colleges, palaces and buildings, including the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca, considered to be one of the marvels of architecture, were irretrievably damaged.

More information: http://www.aboutsalamanca.com/

Places worth visiting

The centre of the city of Salamanca is an open air museum that has remained unchanged since Medieval and Renaissance times. For this reason, and because it is located on the summits of four hills, it is often referred to as ‘Small Rome’.

Popular Fiestas and Festivals

Semana Santa has been declared as one of the most interesting tourist attractions of Spain; this for its traditional and ancient rituals and colourful pagentrty.

On the 8th September, the city celebrates the feria and fiesta of the Virgin of La Vega, the patron saint of the city.