University of Salamanca

A close look at the carved stone facade of the Escuelas Mayores, the University of Salamanca's historic main building in Spain. The round medallion near the bottom shows the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, under the royal arms. It is often called the finest example of Spain's Plateresque style, and visitors still hunt its carvings for the small frog that students are told to find if they want to pass their exams. King Alfonso IX of León founded the university in 1218, which makes it the oldest university in Spain still operating. An earlier school at Palencia did not survive.