The New Student's Reference Work/Salamanca

Sal′aman′ca, a Spanish city on the Tormes, 110 miles northwest of Madrid. From the 13th to the end of the 17th century it was the seat of one of the most renowned universities in Europe. In the 16th century there were from 6,000 to 8,000 students; now there are some 1,200. The library contains 70,500 volumes. The city, which once had a population of 50,000, is still surrounded with walls, pierced by ten gates. Its houses, convents, churches, streets and squares preserve much of their appearance during the middle ages. The great square was used for bullfights, and can hold 20,000 spectators. The town was captured by Hannibal in 222 B. C. The Moors were driven out of it in 1055. The French captured it in 1812. Population 24,000. Salamanca also is a province; area 4,829 square miles; population 320,765.