University of Granada

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University of Granada

Latin: "Universitatis Granatensis"
Established:	1531
Endowment:	395,663,000 €
Rector:	Francisco González Lodeiro
Staff:	3,400
Students:	56,715
Location:	Granada, Spain
Affiliations:	Coimbra Group
Website:	http://www.ugr.es

The University of Granada is a university at Granada, Spain, first founded by the Moors in 1349 and then officially founded in 1531 by the Emperor Carlos V, with support of Pope Clemente VII. The University is home to foreign students from around the world at the University's "Modern Language Center".

The university possesses university campuses in the Spanish cities of Granada, Ceuta and Melilla. Every year about 1,600 European students attend the university as part of the ERASMUS programme, making it the programme's most popular destination.From September 2008 UGR is going to start a new Erasmus Mundus Program named CIMET with other three European Universities

[edit] History

The University of Granada first appeared in the year 1349, when Sultan Yusuf I created the Madrasah of Granada, a building which remained in use until 1499-1500, when it was assaulted by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. As a consequence, the Madrasah's library was burnt down in a fire which was damaging to the book trade of the Moorish civilisation of the time. Once the university had disappeared the building was then donated to local government use by King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The city of Granada would not have a university again until 1526, under Charles V. Since its origins the city of Granada has passed under the influence of the Iberians, the Ancient Romans and then later on the Jews and Muslims. The city was the capital of the Nasrid Kingdom, the Moorish civilisation of the time. Granada was also the last city in the Iberian Peninsula to be reconquered by the Spanish in 1492, effectively driving the Moors out of Spain. Those responsible for this reconquering effort at first obeyed the rules laid down by the monarchy with regards to the city. However, from 1499 onwards these rules began to be broken. This culminated in a revolt instigated by Cardinal Cisneros who took advantage of the situation by burning libraries, thus trying to kill off Moorish culture and force the Moors to convert to Christianity. This highly tense situation of cultural pillaging was put to an end by Charles V.

[edit] The city of Granada

The many different buildings belonging to the University are spread out throughout the urban centre of Granada, giving the city a strong university feeling. The city of Granada has 270,000 inhabitants, and 60,000 of these are university students. Granada is the focus of attention for other reasons as well; historically it was the last stronghold of Islam in Western Europe - The Alhambra and Generalife are proof of this civilisation's splendour. Granada is also a city of the Renaissance - the Hospital Real and the Cathedral are examples of Granada's well-preserved historical heritage.

Granada boasts a privileged geographical position, being halfway between the Mediterranean sea and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The city is a 60 minute drive from the beaches of Motril, 75 minutes from the city of Malaga and 30 minutes from the Sierra Nevada Ski Station (3,400 metres above sea level). The University of Granada possesses university campuses in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish territories situated in Northern Africa which display a wide cultural spectrum due to the varied population they contain.