University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares, Spain
A University City model for the Americas and Europe
Main street (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Alcalá has its origins in Complutum, a Roman settlement founded on the banks of the River Henares. Later, with the arrival of the Visigoths to the peninsula, it became an episcopal seat.
In the 7th century, it was conquered by the Arabs before eventually being reconquered by the Christians in 1118.
Urban layout (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
The amalgam of religions and cultures that have passed through the city is reflected in the urban layout of Alcalá. Streets which originate at the Magistral Church, the heart of the medieval area, come together as they reach the old Jewish and Arab neighbourhoods.
Meanwhile, the ecclesiastical enclosure can be found in the northwest of the city, with the Archbishop's Palace as the main monument.
University of Alcalá (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
It was not until the 16th century, when the University of Alcalá (known until the 19th century as the Complutense University) was founded, that the city flourished culturally and intellectually and its name became known throughout the world.
Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Cardinal Cisneros was the intellectual architect behind this novel educational centre that was designed with the intention of training not only the regular and secular clergy, but also the new public servants that were needed. Cisneros combined traditional educational models with other, more innovative ones.
Santas Formas Chapel (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Alcalá de Henares managed, for the first time in history, to materialize the concept of Civitas Dei (City of God), an urbanistic model which was later spread throughout the world by missionaries, especially in the Americas.
Cloister of the University (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the University of Alcalá, built in 1499, established itself as the most prestigious academic institution in the country, and became a fundamental pillar of the Golden Age. Great intellectuals of the time, such as Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Juan de la Cruz and Ginés de Sepulveda, among many others, studied and taught in its classrooms.
Cervantes house (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Of all the artists who passed through Alcalá, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the city’s most famous native, stands out. His masterpiece, Don Quixote, is visible throughout Alcalá's heritage. The writer's former home, now converted into the Cervantes House Museum, can be found in the historic center of Alcalá.
Colegio de Málaga (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
The university experienced its worst moment in history when, in the 19th century, it was closed down and relocated to Madrid, where it still exists today as the Complutense University of Madrid, heir of the one in Alcalá.
However, in 1976 the institution was re-founded in Alcalá under the name of the University of Alcalá and began to recover, little by little, its historical heritage, allowing it to reach the present day with a high degree of authenticity.
Plaza Cervantes (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
The University Precinct stretches from Cervantes Square to the east of the medieval city. It was enclosed by demolishing part of the medieval walls and extending them around the new urban development.
Laredo Palace (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Amongst the most important of the university buildings are the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso, which includes the university auditorium and the chapel of San Ildefonso, the Laredo Palace, the Trilingual courtyard and the Colegio de Málaga.
University city (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Alcalá de Henares is a living reflection of the first planned university city to be built anywhere in the world, as well as being the first representation of the Civitas Dei in the Baroque period.
A total of 185 buildings, 60% of them of historical interest, make up this city, barely 30 kilometres from the Spanish capital.
Archbishop's palace (1998) by University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de HenaresUNESCO World Heritage
Criterion (ii): Alcalá de Henares was the first city to be designed and built solely as the seat of a university, and was to serve as the model for other centres of learning in Europe and the Americas.
Criterion (iv): The concept of the ideal city, the City of God (Civitas Dei), was first given material expression in Alcalá de Henares, from where it was widely diffused throughout the world.
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A walk in Alcalá de Henares
Criterion (vi): The contribution of Alcalá de Henares to the intellectual development of humankind finds expression in its materialization of the Civitas Dei, in the advances in linguistics that took place there, not least in the definition of the Spanish language, and through the work of its great son, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and his masterpiece Don Quixote.
This exhibit was created by the Wadden Sea World Heritage site: www.turismomadrid.es
More on the University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares and World Heritage: whc.unesco.org/en/list/876
