Salamanca

a city of Spain. It lies on the banks of the Tormes, 172 miles northwest of Madrid by rail. An old Roman bridge, 500 feet in length, crosses the river here by means of twenty-six arches. The city was captured by Hannibal 222 B. C. It was taken from the Romans by the Goths and from the Goths by the Moors. It passed into the hands of the Spanish about 1055. The University of Salamanca was at one time the most important educational institution in Europe. In the thirteenth century it was attended, it is said, by 14,000 students. The library of 80,000 volumes is still in existence. There are two cathedrals of considerable note. In 1486, at the command of King Ferdinand, Columbus laid his projects before a learned council here. His plan for a voyage of discovery was rejected. The convent in which Columbus lodged still stands. The present population of Salamanca is about 25,000.