Salamanca: Spain’s “Golden Sandstone” city

September 27, 2026

Salamanca, located 215 km (130 miles) northwest of Madrid, is called the “Golden City”. The reason? Most of the buildings, especially the monuments in the center of town, are made with a specific sandstone that gives the buildings a golden glow, especially when lit by the sun. The goal of this post is to explain the importance of the buildings, the building stones, and the city itself.

A view of Salamanca when walking toward the Old City from the south. The “New Cathedral”, built in 1533–1733, dominates the view. The construction includes three architectural styles: (1) Gothic, with pointed arches and intricate details; (2) Plateresque, a combination of Gothic and Renaissance elements known for its elaborate decoration; (3) Baroque, introduced in the later building stages. This cathedral, commissioned by Ferdinand V of Castile, is one of the largest and tallest in Spain.

The “New Cathedral” is adjacent to the “Old Cathedral” that was built in the 12th–14th centuries. Its construction is Romanesque with some added Gothic elements. In the photo, the uppermost towers are part of the New Cathedral. A third tower is in front of the New Cathedral’s nave. It has a Romanesque style and is part of the Old Cathedral.
Torre Viejo (right); Torre Nuevo (left)
Left-side image: A map view of the New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva), adjacent to the Old Cathedral (Catedral Vieja). Right-side photo: The tower on the right is part of the Old Cathedral. The tower on the left is part of the New Cathedral (the main tower next to purple dot on map). Notice the difference in styles.

The stone that gives the buildings a golden hue

The cathedrals shown above were built with Villamayor (or Golden) Sandstone. A nearby rock quarry in Villamayor has for hundreds of years been the source of the sandstone, which is valued for its distinctive golden color that transforms the entire city into a glowing surface. The Old City of Salamanca was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1980s, in large part because of the unified appearance of its cherished monuments.

The Villamayor Sandstone was deposited in channels of braided rivers about 20 million years ago. It has not been deeply buried and is mainly held together by weak cements of clay, calcium carbonate and/or iron oxides. In evaluations of its strength (some references are listed below), researchers determined that the sandstone is not a strong building material. But this weakness gives it some unique properties.

Cathedral
Although the sandstone is not strong, it is malleable and ideal for detailed carving. These photos of the New Cathedral show the exquisite rock work, a style called Plateresque (like silver) because the intricate designs can usually only be made using a metal like silver. The photo on the right shows a filigree design that is typically made by gold, silver or other twisted metal.

Because the sand grains are weakly cemented to each other, the sandstone has a lot of porosity (space between grains). To more easily extract the sandstone at the quarry, workers put water on the rock face. The water can penetrate into the rock, causing the clay cement to soften. While still soft, stonemasons carve the sandstone into elaborate designs. Once the sandstone dries, the rock is harder and more durable.
A negative aspect of the sandstone’s porosity is that water can easily enter the sandstone, even after it is part of a building. On the vertical walls that are sunlit, the sandstone remains dry. But at the bottom of the walls, where moisture collects, the sandstone can disintegrate. Left-side photo: Sandstone blocks that are eroding at the bottom of a wall—notice how the mortar sticks out from the sandstone.

Right-side photo: At the top, behind the wall in the foreground, is a wall in good condition. On the other hand, the wall in the foreground has had many repairs—with different rocks and applied stucco. The redder rock is the Salamanca Sandstone that is older than the Villamayor Sandstone. The red color is from an iron oxide cement. It also has an opal cement and analyses have shown that it is a stronger rock, with less porosity, than the Villamayor Sandstone. Consequently, builders making repairs often substitute the Salamanca Sandstone or even granite, which can also be found locally.

The University of Salamanca

Founded in 1218, the University of Salamanca is the oldest university in Spain, and one of the four oldest in the world that has been in continual operation. The university has an illustrious history because many new ideas developed there. From its founding to the 16th century, it was arguably the most important intellectual institution on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most influential in the Western world. It was the place where Christopher Columbus discussed the details of this voyage to the Americas. Hernán Cortés studied at the university before leaving for the Americas and conquering the Aztec Empire. 

The university continues its prestigious reputation today. It is the top-ranked university in Spain and it also attracts students from 50 countries around the world. It is a center of science and research investigations in many fields. In reading about the Villamayor sandstone I learned that the university has a Department of Geology (Geología).

Calavera con rana
The University of Salamanca is another group of buildings constructed using Villamayor Sandstone blocks. The front of the building in these photos well illustrates the detail in the sandstone carvings. Left-side photo: Our group on a Spanish immersion tour (more details below) in front of one of the university buildings. The three levels of carvings above the doors emphasize the connections among royalty, city, and academic specializations at the time of the university’s founding.

Right-side photo: The frog (rana) is an important icon for the university and also the city. Legend says that a student was struggling and on the verge of failing. He sought advice from an older professor who told him that if he could find the hidden frog on the façade of the university, he would pass his exams. Apparently he found the frog and it has become a symbol of good luck and academic success in Salamanca. In many cultures, frogs are seen as symbols of transformation and rebirth, an idea that resonates with education and learning, as students grow and transform intellectually. Find the frog for YOUR good luck! [Hint: it’s close to the center of the photo and is on the top of a skull. It’s very small.]
This beautiful Plaza de Escuelas (Plaza of Schools) is an artitectural style called mudéjar, where Islamic-inspired motifs and patterning are applied to Christian styles. The squarish arches are typical of this style, which is found throughout Salamanca. Made with Villamayor Sandstone, it is a good example of the golden glow when the stone is lit by sunlight.
Inside the building next to the Plaza de Escuelas is a painted dome known as the El Cielo de Salamanca (The Sky of Salamanca). It illustrates the groups of stars that we call constellations.
Another good example of the mudéjar architectural style. Left-side photo: The courtyard of a building that was in private hands until 1993, when it became a public library for the university. Notice the squarish arches constructed in Villamayor Sandstone. Right-side photo: A carved wooden ceiling in the same building.


Like the rest of Spain, Salamanca was conquered by Islamic groups that invaded from North Africa in the early 8th century. The “reconquista”—when control returned to Catholic Spanish kings—occurred earlier here than elsewhere. King Alfonso VI took control in 1085. Nevertheless, many in the Islamic population remained and were hired for construction work because their designs were so admired. This work is referred to as “mudéjar art”. Muslims and Jews were eventually expelled when the Catholics conquered Andalusia in 1492. The area around Granada in southern Spain was the last to fall from Islamic to Catholic rule.

Casa de las Conchas (shells)

The Casa de las Conchas was built around 1500 by a knight of the Order of Santiago de Compostela who was also a professor in the University of Salamanca. 

Symbol of pilgrims
Left-side photo: La Casa de Conchas mixes late Gothic and Plateresque styles and is covered with more than 300 shells, the symbol of the order of Santiago and the pilgrims walking the Way of St. James (El Camino). Note that the stones at the bottom of the wall are different, probably because they were eroded and had to be replaced. Right-side photo: Shell symbol of the Way of St. James on a narrow street in Salamanca. It showed pilgrims the way to walk.

Palacio de la Salina

The Palacio de la Salina was built in 1538. Its name—“La Salina”—derives from its centuries-old function as a salt warehouse, a vital commodity for preserving food in the 16th century. It was associated with a private noble family until 1884, but is now home to the Provincial Council of Salamanca. It is known for its architectural excellence and its spectacular courtyard.

The elegant courtyard of the Palacio de la Salina. Notice the mudéjar architectural style and detailed carvings in the Villamayor Sandstone. It looks like the lower parts of the wall have been replaced with a stronger sandstone.
Two closeups of the detailed stone carvings at the top of columns (left side of courtyard photo above).

Earthquake Damage

Salamanca is in the center of Spain, where tectonic activity, including earthquakes, is minimal. But the city was affected in 1755 by the Great Lisbon Earthquake. The epicenter was just offshore from Lisbon, which was almost completely destroyed (see my post about Lisbon for more information: https://landscapes-revealed.net/why-are-there-earthquakes-in-lisbon/. The earthquake had a magnitude of at least 8 and was felt widely throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

I took both of these photos at the same location—left-side photo looking forward and right-side photo looking at the wall on my right. Left-side photo: The tower of the Old Cathedral. Although it’s not obvious in this photo, the tower has been leaning since the city was shaken during the 1755 earthquake. Right-side photo: The horizontal metal bars were installed to repair cracks in the wall that formed during the earthquake.

More city photos

New statues on the church
Stork nest – duplex
Left-side photo: Over time, the sandstone buildings are exposed to the elements and need to repaired. Some of the stonemasons imbue their stone replacements with a sense of humor. On this part of the New Cathedral, ornamental replacements include an astronaut (upper left corner) and a tiger eating an ice cream cone (lower right corner)! The tannish coloration is from iron oxides in the Villamayor Sandstone.

Right-side photo: White storks migrate to northwest Africa in the winter and then to Spain in the summer. Research in Salamanca has shown that the same bird pair returns every year and occupies the same nest. This nest on a bell tower is a duplex with two nests. Unfortunately, the occupants weren’t in town when we visited.
Two typical street scenes. Left-side photo: Cathedral tower at night, with moon and narrow street filled with people. Right-side photo: A cathedral tower through an arch with narrow street filled with people.
A Roman-era bridge over the Torres River. It is one of the few constructions remaining from the Roman era, although it has been repaired. Some of our group members are walking across the bridge, because our hotel was south of the river and we needed to walk northward across the bridge to get to the Old City.
In places, pieces of the old wall are still visible. Here, there is a natural rock outcrop and the wall was built above and around the outcrop. The rocks underlying Salamanca are sandstone, but not the Villamayor Sandstone used for the buildings.
Not all buildings are made of the Villamayor Sandstone. This Art Nouveau building, made of mostly steel and glass, houses a vast collection of Art Nouveau objects. This stained-glass window provides a view of the south end of Salamanca.

Spanish immersion tour

After 11 days exploring Valencia (https://landscapes-revealed.net/valencia-spain-move-a-river-save-a-city/) and Denia (https://landscapes-revealed.net/the-sea-and-mountains-of-denia-spain/), I returned to Madrid to meet a group affiliated with a Spanish school in Cuernavaca Mexico: http://www.spanishincuernavaca.com. Our 10-day Spanish immersion tour included four days in Madrid, four days in Salamanca/Ávila/Segovia, and one day in Toledo. We had a Spanish class each morning and guides that explained what we were seeing in Spanish. ASLI, the Spanish school in Mexico, has a program called “Spanish 2 go”; they typically do 5 or 6 immersion tours to different Spanish-speaking regions.

I’m now back home. This will be my only post from the Spanish immersion part of my trip.

Part of our group in the Plaza Mayor, the large central square in Salamanca. All of the buildings were with Villamayor Sandstone, which really glows with the lights. At the table are four of the ten tour participants and our three guides/instructors (in black, yellow and red). A photo of the entire group is above, in front of a university building.

Some references

Villamayor Stone (Golden Stone) as a Global Heritage Stone Resource from Salamanca (NW of Spain), 2014, by J. GARCIA-TALEGO et al.: https://i1.rgstatic.net/publication/258782087_Villamayor_Stone_Golden_Stone_as_a_Global_Heritage_Stone_Resource_from_Salamanca_NW_of_Spain/links/54d21df00cf25ba0f0425ee1/largepreview.png

Choosing the Right Stone to Restore a UNESCO World Heritage City: Salamanca (Spain), 2026, by Dolores Pereira: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12371-026-01356-w

The Stone Heart of Castile: Unearthing Salamanca’s Geological Tapestry in a Changing World, by Greenland Geography: https://greenlandgeography.github.io/spain-geography/salamanca-geography/

Posted in

Leave a Reply

Recent Posts

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

Archives