THE SPANISH COLLEGE

The Spanish College is an institution with ties to the Spanish government under the auspices of the Ministry of Education through the Secretary General for Universities. The donation agreement was signed in 1927 by King Alphonso XIII. The House was designed by the Spanish architect Modesto López Otero—one of the architects behind the Ciudad Universitaria de Madrid, created around the same time—in partnership with French architects E Body and J-N Warin. Its classical style was inspired by the Monterrey Palace in Salamanca, which belonged to the Duke of Alba. The residence was initially scheduled to open in 1932 but the inauguration was delayed as a result of Spain’s political upheaval. The College finally opened its doors in 1935, under the Second Spanish Republic, with the support of the Institución Libre Para la Enseñanza, whose members included leading intellectual lights such as Miguel de Unamuno, José Ortega y Gasset, Blas Cabrera, Américo Castro and Jiménez Fraud.

In May 1968, the Spanish College was occupied during the demonstrations that gripped Paris. General Franco, who did not subscribe to the Cité Internationale’s humanist and internationalist values, used the situation to order the closure of the residence, which did not reopen until 1987. 12 years of renovation and modernisation work restored the building to its former glory, and even introduced a few added comforts! The residence now includes 110 housing units and plays an active part in life at the Cité Internationale, largely thanks to its rich cultural, scientific and artistic programme, actively working hand in hand with a number of universities in Paris and around France.