Salamanca

Salamanca ( SAL-ə-MANK-ə, Spanish: [salaˈmaŋka]) is a city in western Spain that is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the community of Castile and León. The city lies on several hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. With a metropolitan population of 228,881 in 2012 according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Salamanca is the second most populated urban area in Castile and León, after Valladolid (414,000), and ahead of León (187,000) and Burgos (176,000).

The Roman bridge of Salamanca (in Spanish: Puente romano de Salamanca), also known as Puente Mayor del Tormes is a Roman bridge crossing the Tormes River on the banks of the city of Salamanca, in Castile and León, Spain. The importance of the bridge as a symbol of the city can be seen in the first quartering of city's coat of arms (along with its stone bull-verraco).

The Casa Lis is a museum located in the ancient city wall of Salamanca, Spain. Also known as Museo Art Nouveau and Art Déco, it is a museum of decorative arts, with exhibits dating from the last decades of the 19th century to World War II.

The Siege of the Salamanca Forts (17–27 June 1812) saw an 800-man Imperial French garrison directed by Lieutenant Colonel Duchemin defend three fortified convents in the city of Salamanca against the 48,000-strong Anglo-Allied army led by Arthur Wellesley, Lord Wellington. During this time, the French commander Marshal Auguste de Marmont led a 40,000-man French army in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the garrison.

The General Archive of the Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española) is a specialist archive containing material related to the Spanish Civil War. It is part of Spain's National Historical Archive and is located in Salamanca. The origins of the Civil War Archive, and the decision to house such documents in Salamanca, date back to the 1930s.

The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca, Latin: Universitas Studii Salmanticensis) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, west of Madrid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218.