Calar Alto Instrumentation Workshop

Granada Information

Granada is a city in Southern Spain, 430 km from Madrid, 250 km from Sevilla and 125 km from Malaga, with a lot of history and touristic attraction. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain and a well known travelling destination. With a population of some 250,000, it has a very active University life and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The center of the city is dominated by the hill hosting the superb Arabian Palaces of the Alhambra; in front of them is the borough of the Albayzin which has been nominated by UNESCO as Heritage of Humanity.

Astronomy fluorished in Granada in the last nazarite Kingdom (XIII-XV centuries). This is the epoch of the nazarite University of Granada, La Madraza, founded by Yusuf I. The seed of a modern astronomical tradition can be considered the University of Granada founded by emperor Charles V at the beginning of the XVI century. Contemporary astronomical observations started associated to the Observatorio de Cartuja, formerly operated by the Jesuits, where astronomical and seismological research was being done since the first half of XX century.