University of Valladolid

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University of Valladolid
Universidad de Valladolid

The shield of the University of Valladolid sculpted into the facade of the Facultad de Derecho

Motto:	Sapientia Aedificavit Sibi Domvm (Knowledge builds your house)
Established:	Twelfth century
Type:	Public
Rector:	Evaristo J. Abril
Students:	31,780
Location:	Valladolid, Palencia, Soria and Segovia, Spain
Website:	www.uva.es

The University of Valladolid is a university in the city of Valladolid in the Valladolid province of the autonomous region of Castile-Leon,in northern Spain. The university currently has 31,780 undergraduate students and more than 2,000 faculty.

[edit] History

It was chartered by Clement VI in 1346 but now claims continuity with the University of Palencia, founded in 1212.

It has been an institution closely linked to the city since its foundation, influencing the city's development by the intense cultural and economic activity that it drove. From the beginning it was situated in the Colegiata, later passing to the current location of the Facultad de Derecho on the other side of the plaza.

[edit] Buildings

Baroque Facade (1715) of the University building, now Facultad de Derecho

The first building of the University that is notable for its architecture is the one constructed at the end of the fifteenth century, after the move of the institution from the Colegiata and until its new location. It consists of a four sided cloister, which opens up the hallways, and a late Gothic chapel of a certain magnitude. At the cloister one enters through a portal, also late Gothic, that opens to the calle Librería. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, this became insufficient, prompting an enlargement consisting of a quadrangular cloister with four galleries that open to various hallways built at the same time. From the plaza de Santa María (today the University plaza), one can see the interesting Baroque facade designed by the Carmelite Fray Pedro de la Visitación and constructed in 1715. There are distinct sculptural groups that represent allegories of the subjects that are taught in the building. The central section, organized into four columns of giants, is finished off by a giant ornamental comb.

In 1909, and with great controversy, it was decided to destroy the old building, including the entrance hall from the fifteenth century that opened to calle Librería, in order to construct a new building following an eclectic design by the architect Teodosio Torres. They would save only the Baroque facade though it appears that they also contemplated its destruction. Torres's design featured two cloisters. A stair case was situated between both cloisters and a great vestibule opened to calle Librería. The facade of the university building to this street was based on a reinterpretation of the Baroque facade of Fray Pedro, utilizing Plateresque, Baroque and Neoclassical decorative elements. At one side of the facade was an observation tower and on the other was a new clock tower that filled the corner between the University plaza and calle Librería. The project experienced problems as the Baroque facade was incorporated slowly. In 1939, the building suffered a fire. To alleviate the problem of the facade's integration into Torres's building, Constantino Candeira designed a great staircase and vestibule, in the historicist style, that was accessed through the Baroque facade. The staircase is an example of the triumphalist and historicist architecture of Postwar Spain. In 1968 the building was finished with the destruction of the second cloister and the construction of a five-floor building to house students, and the destruction of Torres's building which had been built for far fewer students. In this same reform, the observation tower and the great auditorium of 1909. The facade that faces Librería was remodeled, losing the vestigial historicism of Torres. The new auditorium flanks the facade of Fray Pedro on one of its sides.

The computer science department has gained notoriety by hosting the programming contests for the Association for Computing Machinery using online judging of the submitted programs.[1]