In the historic center of town is the world-famous Salamanca University, founded in 1218 as the first university in Spain and modeled after the University of Bologna in Italy.
Salamanca University became one of the most important centers of learning in Europe during the Middle Ages. It recognized the Copernican system (the concept that the sun is the center of the universe) at a time when the church still regarded this idea as heresy.
Miguel de Cervantes, Spain's most well-known writer and author of the novel Don Quixote, was a student of the university.
Graced with elegant Renaissance and Baroque buildings, the magnificent Patio de Escuelas courtyard is a landmark within Salamanca University.
Several important monuments are found here, including the University's Escuelas Mayores (buildings of the university proper), which are known as an unsurpassed masterpiece of Plateresque ornamentation.
Here, you will also find the Escuelas Menores, the university preparatory schools, which were established in 1428, and the Hospital del Estudio, now the Rector's office, which was built in 1533 as a hostel for poor students.
