A walk through the University of Alcalá de Henares

The University of Alcalá de Henares was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. A visit to it is a good way to understand how students from centuries ago studied and lived at the university and, furthermore, to be able to enjoy its architecture.

The University of Alcalá de Henares can be visited in a guided way, thus discovering its most beautiful corners and with which you will learn various anecdotes related to the building and the institution.

As it could not be otherwise, we begin by analyzing the architecture of the façade to then enter the interior of the building and focus on each of its patios where you can see both its artistic style and discover the reason for each one. from them.

A bit of history of the University of Alcalá de Henares

Cardinal Cisneros has been one of the most important figures within the University of Alcalá de Henares.

It was founded by himself and it was a most innovative educational project in which several of the most important university models of that time were incorporated, such as those of Paris and Salamanca, to which some more innovative ones were added. such as Bologna and Leuven.

The university students had very strict rules and that is why in the university itself there was a prison that was visited more than once by Lope de Vega and Quevedo among other celebrities of the time.

Without a doubt, it is one of the most important universities in that golden age of Spain and the best thing to see in Alcalá de Henares.

The courtyards of the Alcalá de Henares University

These three must-see patios are the Patio de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, the Patio de los Filósofos and the Patio del Trilingüe.

Starting with that of Santo Tomás de Villanueva, it is a patio that stands out for its sober character and its monumentality and was built in 1618. Surrounding the patio we find several embossed pinnacles where you can see the Latin phrase EN LUTEAM OLIM CELEBRATES MARMOREAM, which means before in clay, now in stone.

For its part, the Patio de los Filósofos dates between the years 1530 and 1535. It is the patio where the audience of the rector of the university as well as the notaries, notaries and solicitors of the university were located. In addition to these rooms, it was also located next to several university warehouses and the university jail.

Finally, the Trilingual Courtyard owes its name to the fact that the three classical languages ​​were studied in the classrooms it houses. These languages ​​were Latin, Hebrew and Greek. Nowadays, in this courtyard you can find the Hostería del Estudiante. Through this courtyard you can also access the Auditorium of the University, a place that stands out for its decorative aspects where we can find Islamic techniques.

You can find more information on the official website of the University of Alcalá de Henares.