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The origins of the University of Barcelona date back to 1401, the date on which Martin I the Human granted the city the studies of medicine and the arts. But it started off on the wrong foot, since the Council of One Hundred refused to establish its constitution because it saw its jurisdiction invaded.
In the same way, the council of the General Study of Lleida also protested, because, with the authorization of Martín el Humano, the virtual monopoly of higher education in the Crown of Aragon was broken.
The Study of Medicine was linked to the Hospital of the Holy Cross and was in operation from 1402 to 1450, the date on which Alfonso the Magnanimous founded the General Study of Barcelona.
With the events that occurred in 1714, the Old University of Barcelona was transferred in 1715, by order of Philip V, to the town of Cervera, in the province of Lérida, in gratitude for the support received from its inhabitants during the War of Succession. .
This situation continued for almost a century and a half, since it was not until 1837 that it was decided to move back to Barcelona.
The total transfer lasted five years and in 1842 it was completed with the restoration of the University of Barcelona, which was the only university that operated in Catalonia at that time.
During the time that the construction of the new headquarters lasted and given that the transfer had taken place in 1837, the course that began in 1838 had to be held in the old Carmelite convent that existed on Calle del Carmen, at the height of Calle from Doctor Dou.
The building, after the events of 1835, was not in the best condition. All the courses that existed to date had to be distributed, with the exception of Medicine, which was taught until 1904 at the Santa Cruz hospital. The following year he went to the Barcelona Clinical Hospital.
The state of the building made the authorities think about the need to find a new location for the university, in a place not far from the center.
With the demolition of the walls, many empty lots had been left, but the Government thought that due to its proximity the land located in what would be the Plaza de Universidad had all the qualities.
In 1863, the first stone of the Historical Building of the modern University of Barcelona was laid. Although the project commissioned to Elies Rogent i Amat was carried out quickly, its construction lasted a whopping 19 years, since he shared the work with the position of director of the Provincial School of Architecture of Barcelona.
During the 1950s, an expansion process began that led to the decentralization of studies given the implementation of new courses and the fact that it was impossible to teach them in the Historic Building.
This made us look towards the Pedralbes area, where the Faculty of Pharmacy was built in 1957. Over time today we see that new technologies have led to the emergence of new faculties to teach the nascent sciences of our days.
But one thing will remain forever, the University of Barcelona has its historic headquarters in Plaza Universidad, between Balmes and Aribau.
