History
The Palacio de la
Medersa was founded by King Yusuf I of Granada,
in 1349. The Madrasa worked as a
university until 1499 or early 1500 until the capitulations that followed the
conquest of the city by the Catholic Kings. But in
1499, with the arrival in Granada
by Gonzalo Jimenez de Cisneros, the policy of tolerance and observance of
capitulations that had been developed by the Archbishop Hernando de Talavera
was ousted by Christianization and Europeanization. This new
policy led to the uprising of Granada,
concentrated mainly in Albaicin. The situation was exploited by Cisneros to assault the Madrasa,
whose library was taken to the Plaza de Bib-Rambla and burned in a public
bonfire. Once plundered and closed, the building was donated by
Ferdinand II of Aragon
in 1500, for the Cabildo (council) to perform the functions of the Chapter
House until the nineteenth century.
Today the house is part of the University of Granada,
lying inside the premises of the Faculty of Arts, which holds occasional
exhibitions. Between 2006 and 2007, the
house was thoroughly restored and an archaeological excavation took place. Once
opened to the public, it has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the
university.
The Palacio de la Medersa (Palace of the Madrasa)
is a palace in Spain,
located in the center of Granada,
opposite the Royal Chapel, near the Bishop's Palace. The madrasa of Granada
was the first University of Granada, founded in 1349 by King Dynasty Nasrid Yusuf
I of Granada.
Located in Calle Oficios as it is now known, the Madrasa
was in one of the privileged sites of the city, next to the Mosque Staff. Among the
teachers, Ibn al-Fajjar, Ibn Lubb, Ibn Marzuk, al-Maqqari and Ibn al-Khatib can
be singled out. Among the most
famous students is the poet Ibn Zamrak. Among
other issues, he taught law, medicine and mathematics there.
Architecture
Its architecture, like all works of Yusuf I, is
resplendent, with white marble portals, whose remains are preserved in the
Archaeological Museum of Granada. The building was organized as a pond plant. However the
building has undergone many architectural changes and it is hard to believe
that it once was a Madrasa, in the Moorish style, founded in the fourteenth
century. The original facade was made of marble and had
inscriptions in Arabic with scientific and philosophical theories. Among the
poems that decorate it is: "If your mind is the seat of the study and
desire to get out of ignorance that is where the beautiful tree of honor is.
It makes the study shine like stars the great, and that
which are not Ileva has the same enlightenment.” During office
hours you can freely enter the palace. The wooden doors are
intricately carved in a Moorish arch and the entrance is decorated with
beautiful ornaments. In the small prayer room you can see the magnificent
decorated mihrab.