The Universidad Complutense de Madrid was founded in Alcalá de Henares by Cardinal Cisneros through a Papal Bull conceded by Pope Alejandro VI in 1499. Nevertheless, its real origin goes back to the 20th May 1293 when King Sancho IV of Castille created the Studio of General Schools of Alcalá which two centurias later would become the Universidad Complutense de Cisneros. By 1510 the school included five faculties: Arts and Philosophy, Theology, Canonical Law, Literature and Medicine.

The university was transferred to Madrid in 1836 under the reign of Isabel II, whereby it was renamed the Universidad Central. In 1927 the construction of a university campus was planned in the Moncloa area on lands donated by King Alfonso XIII. During this time the nucleus of the so-called Silver age of Spanish culture became established. Luminaries such as José Ortega y Gasset, Manuel García Morente, Luis Jiménez de Asúa, Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Blas Cabrera taught at the university.

The Spanish Civil War turned the University City into a battlefront resulting in the destruction of faculty buildings and institute... [ Read All ]