Old School Spain: Salamanca

The last place I visited during the week of Feria was the city of Salamanca. Salamanca is located in the autonomous community of Castile and León, in northwestern Spain. The entire “Old City” of Salamanca has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the architectural style of these buildings is very distinct and beautiful. Salamanca is a major university town, as it is home to the University of Salamanca, Spain’s oldest university (founded in 1134).

I arrived in the evening after taking the bus from Mérida, and walked straight to my hostal: Hostal Mindanao. I was very tired after a long day, but I did venture out to go see the Plaza Mayor, which I had heard was very beautiful at night. The plaza looks like many Spanish Baroque plazas I had seen in other cities, but it was gorgeous when lit up!

The next morning I walked around the city center to see locations I had read about online. Some of the highlights were the Clerecía, the Casa de las Conchas, the Cueva de Salamanca, the Convento e Iglesia de San Esteban, and the Roman Bridge.

 

I then went to go see the University of Salamanca. The façade of the building is very famous for its intricate carvings. A fun “game” is to try and find a frog that’s hidden somewhere in the stone carvings. It’s considered good luck for students if they find the frog, and they’ll supposedly do well on their next exam! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pay to go inside the university, but I ended up deciding to buy a ticket, and I was glad I did! It was organized very well for tourists and there were a lot of interesting rooms and architectural details to admire. It was also fun to visit a university building that’s so old, but that is still used today! I had become accustomed to the main building at the University of Seville, but seeing another, even older, Spanish university was fun.

After that, I went to go see the Cathedral. On one side of the Cathedral, there’s a façade which was renovated relatively recently. Apparently the people who conducted the renovations had a bit of fun and added some interesting stone carvings. Among the flowers and saints, the “game” is to look for the astronaut, and the gargoyle holding an ice cream cone! The inside of the Cathedral was beautiful, and unique, as there are technically two cathedrals: the “Old” and the “New”. The Old Cathedral was founded in the 12th century and completed in the 14th century, and is an example of Gothic and Romanesque architecture. Construction on the New Cathedral began in 1513 and was finished by 1733, so the architecture has late Gothic and Baroque characteristics. After touring the Cathedral, I went outside to a separate entrance to climb the Ieronimus bell tower. This was a very fun experience, as you’re taken up one of the towers and given the chance to walk outside on the Cathedral’s roof, as well as walk inside the Cathedral on some very high balconies that provide a great viewpoint. The view from the top of the tower is great, and the entire experience is very organized, as there’s a specific path you follow to go up and down, so there aren’t any “traffic jams” with other tourists, as I’ve experienced in other towers in other cities.

Another fun place I visited was the Casa Lis Museum of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Only the picture from the museum’s exterior is mine; unfortunately no photos were allowed inside, so I’m including some pictures I’ve borrowed from various places online. The museum itself was beautiful, and I loved the exhibits they had on display!

Here’s a video that shows more of the interior of the museum, as well as examples of the kinds of works they have on display. It’s in Spanish, but you can skip through just to get an idea of what the museum is like!

Salamanca was a very fun city to visit. It had a very unique atmosphere and I loved the overall “look” of the city center. It was very fun to walk around and explore, and was a great way to end my time off from classes.

Get excited! My next post will be about one of my few trips outside of Spain from the past semester. My friend and I went to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend! ¡Hasta pronto!