Salamanca is an ancient Celtic city in northwestern Spain. The city lies on several hills by the Tormes River. It is a very big university city in Spain and supplies 16% of Spain’s market for the teaching the Spanish language. Salamanca attracts thousands of international students each year.
The University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218, is the oldest university in Spain. Around 30,000 students attend the university as it is a primary source of income in Salamanca, along with tourism.
Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor is a public space in middle of the city. During night lights illuminate the square into a beautiful sight. The plaza is lined with restaurants, tourist shops, jewelry stores, and the town hall. It is considered the heart of Salamanca and is one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain.
Casa de las conchas
Casa de las Conchas was built in the late 15th century with Gothic civil style, it is decorated with about 350 shells of scallops, distinctive of the Order of Santiago. It currently houses a public library. It was built by a knight and Proffesor from the Order of Santiago.
It is said that under one shell lies hidden treasure, ounces of gold. Another story I heard was under one shell was a pearl (although I could find no evidence of the story online). All we know is people presume there is some kind of treasure under one of the hundreds of shells.
Legend also has it the proffesor made bad students sleep in the basement of the palace. Nonetheless it is a very unique building with mixed architecture.
The hidden Frog and a spaceman?
The frog: You can find a frog carved into the wall of Salamanca Universities most famous architectural building. There are a few theories as to why there even is a hidden frog. One theory is linked to the university. This story says that the students studying at university had to try and find the tiny frog amongst the carvings on the wall, and if they managed to find it without help they would pass their exams and have good luck. To this day students at the University still attempt to find it for good luck.
Others say the frog was meant to be a toad which meant sexual temptation. Back when the university was full of male students prostitution was popular in the area. So some say the toad on a skull was reminder of death and risks of sexual temptations.
I’m not going to show you where the hidden frog is, because that takes the fun out of it. If you plan to visit Salamanca spend some time trying to find it well your there. Nowadays you can just google search where it is, but that’s no fun.
Spaceman: On the Cathedral of Salamanca Another peculiar piece on the wall is an astronaut. How did 12th century architects know about astronauts? Well, they didn’t, during renovations of the Cathedral of Salamanca in 1992 they integrated modern and contemporary motifs. This included a carved figure of an astronaut as a signature for the renovations among the older work. The person responsible for the restoration, Jeronimo Garcia, chose an astronaut as a symbol of the twentieth century.
Roman Bridges
Roman Bridge of Salamanca cross the Tormes River, it is 150 m long and built on 26 arches, of which fifteen are Roman of the 1st century BC, while the remainder date from a 16th-century reconstruction after a flood. The bridges are open to public and holding strong which was ironic when the newer bridges across the river were put under reconstruction for a period of time.
Salamanca Spain
There is so much to see in Salamanca, this article only covered highlights of the great city. I encourage you to visit the city if in Spain. Salamanca is rich with history, universities, churches, cathedrals, palaces, bridges, plazas, theaters, towers etc.
The University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218, is the oldest university in Spain. Around 30,000 students attend the university as it is a primary source of income in Salamanca, along with tourism.
Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor is a public space in middle of the city. During night lights illuminate the square into a beautiful sight. The plaza is lined with restaurants, tourist shops, jewelry stores, and the town hall. It is considered the heart of Salamanca and is one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain.
Casa de las conchas
Casa de las Conchas was built in the late 15th century with Gothic civil style, it is decorated with about 350 shells of scallops, distinctive of the Order of Santiago. It currently houses a public library. It was built by a knight and Proffesor from the Order of Santiago.
It is said that under one shell lies hidden treasure, ounces of gold. Another story I heard was under one shell was a pearl (although I could find no evidence of the story online). All we know is people presume there is some kind of treasure under one of the hundreds of shells.
Legend also has it the proffesor made bad students sleep in the basement of the palace. Nonetheless it is a very unique building with mixed architecture.
The hidden Frog and a spaceman?
The frog: You can find a frog carved into the wall of Salamanca Universities most famous architectural building. There are a few theories as to why there even is a hidden frog. One theory is linked to the university. This story says that the students studying at university had to try and find the tiny frog amongst the carvings on the wall, and if they managed to find it without help they would pass their exams and have good luck. To this day students at the University still attempt to find it for good luck.
Others say the frog was meant to be a toad which meant sexual temptation. Back when the university was full of male students prostitution was popular in the area. So some say the toad on a skull was reminder of death and risks of sexual temptations.
I’m not going to show you where the hidden frog is, because that takes the fun out of it. If you plan to visit Salamanca spend some time trying to find it well your there. Nowadays you can just google search where it is, but that’s no fun.
Spaceman: On the Cathedral of Salamanca Another peculiar piece on the wall is an astronaut. How did 12th century architects know about astronauts? Well, they didn’t, during renovations of the Cathedral of Salamanca in 1992 they integrated modern and contemporary motifs. This included a carved figure of an astronaut as a signature for the renovations among the older work. The person responsible for the restoration, Jeronimo Garcia, chose an astronaut as a symbol of the twentieth century.
Roman Bridges
Roman Bridge of Salamanca cross the Tormes River, it is 150 m long and built on 26 arches, of which fifteen are Roman of the 1st century BC, while the remainder date from a 16th-century reconstruction after a flood. The bridges are open to public and holding strong which was ironic when the newer bridges across the river were put under reconstruction for a period of time.
Salamanca Spain
There is so much to see in Salamanca, this article only covered highlights of the great city. I encourage you to visit the city if in Spain. Salamanca is rich with history, universities, churches, cathedrals, palaces, bridges, plazas, theaters, towers etc.
Written by Ross