Was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the fourth oldest European university in continuous operations. I would hazard a guess that the others would include those in Britain – Oxford and Cambridge whilst the University of Bologna is surely a candidate. Uppsala is a delightful university town in Sweden which I visited 3 years ago. Incidentally the Guinness Book of Records claims the oldest university still functioning in the world, is in Morocco!

The formal title of “University” was granted by King Alfonso X in 1254 and recognized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.

So Salamanca is one of the oldest, most important and respected university towns in Europe. Economically the town thrives  in fact depends upon tourism and the university . Here are photos of its facade.