At a distance of about 30 kilometers north from Madrid, there’s one of the most amazing art complexes and universities in Spain, the Alcalá de Henares. Alcalá de Henares is an area which contains several art and education related buildings and which has offered the main university in Spain for centuries.
The city of Alcalá de Henares has so much to offer and such a great past that it has been named a World Heritage City by the UNESCO. This town is recognized to be very interesting and attractive due to several reasons, such as per example, its university, its constructions, its history, and its relation with arts among others.
The University of Alcalá de Henares was built towards the last years of the XV century and founded in the year 1499 by Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros. Soon after its foundation, this university became one of the best of the region, receiving students from several different spots and places of not only Spain but the entire world as well. During the XIX century, this university moved to Madrid, letting its great antique construction in its mother town as a witness of its origins.
Besides the building of the University, the city of Alcalá de Henares offers several other spots to visit. One of these spots is the wall which surrounds the old city and which has two main openings or doors. One of the main openings in the walls of the old city is the Puerta de Madrid, which received some changes around the year 1780 providing it with a neoclassical appearance. The other opening in this wall is called the Puerta de Burgos, or Burgos Door, allowing tourists to easily reach the Monasterio de las Bernadas.
Another interesting spot to visit is the Museum of Sculptures, where tourists could meet a variety of art work pieces from several different creators and origins. Also, tourists who visit Alcalá de Henares could meet its Palacio Arzobispal, a construction from the XIV century which, despite of the fact that some of its parts have been destroyed, still contains some of its original elements.