OXFORD. MORE THAN A UNIVERSITY TOWN

Oxford is one of the most famous university towns in the world

There is no doubt that Oxford is one of the most famous university towns all over the world. It is even possible to say that most people have heard about Oxford University without being aware that it is located in a beautiful town in central southern England.

With a population of about 165.000 people, Oxford is not only its university. It has a diverse economic base, with industries including motor manufacturing, education and publishing along with many information technology and science-based businesses.

The City of The Dreaming Spires seen from a near park in Winter

Oxford is one of the most attractive places in Britain for tourists. The poet Matthew Arnold called it "The City of Dreaming Spires" and the town really lives up to such a beautiful name. It refers to the harmonius architecture of its university buildings.

Some of the main buildings in the centre of the town

However and, in spite of not being only a university town, we must recognise that Oxford would not be what it is nowadays without its university, which is the oldest in Britain and in all the British-speaking world. The city of Oxford was founded by the Saxons in the IX century. Its name, meaning "Ford of the Oxen", makes reference to an oxen crossing over the river Thames.

Bicycles are an important part of the daily life

The University of Oxford dates back to the XII century. As the University took shape, there were serious problems with the students who lived how and where they wanted and this led to laws stating that all the students would have to live in approved halls. The halls would later become the colleges around which university life has been based since then.

In this picture, you can see how a College is organised

There are 38 Colleges at present, some of them having been founded in the XIII Century, as St. Edmund Hall, University College, Merton or Balliol. Throughout its history, many people who have been Oxford students have become notable, among them 47 Nobel-prize winners (in all six categories); 26 British Prime Ministers ( Gladstone, Attlee, Thatcher, Blair or the current one, David Cameron among them). Many other international leaders have been educated in Oxford.

There are 38 colleges, like the one in the picture.

The list of the famous ex-alumni is endless: Scientists like Edwin Hubble or Stephen Hawking; writers as Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, P.B. Shelley or T.S. Eliott; People related to arts like actor Hugh Grant or film director Ken Loach; economists like Adam Smith or Amartya Sen; or philosophers such as William of Ockham, Thomas Hobbes, or John Locke.

Aerial view of Oxford

As you easily see, the prestige of Oxford University is firmly established and makes it one of the most important educational institutions all over the world. It would be enough for a post on the university alone.

A ceremony at University

But we don´t want you to think that Oxford is only its university. The city is today a bustling cosmopolitan city, full of shops, commercial centres and pubs. In addition, it´s a city with a lively and vibrant cultural life with lot of museums and theatres.

The centre of the town is full of shops, pubs and restaurants

Nobody gets bored in Oxford. A University town which is much more than a University town.