The Madrasa

The building known as the Palace of La Madraza, or the Yusufiya Madrasa, was founded by the Nasrid sultan Yusuf I in the year 1349. A place of higher education in theology, jurisprudence and philosophy, along the same lines as the Merinid madrasas in North Africa, it is the only state centre of this type known in al-Andalus. In 1501, after the arrival of Ferdinand and Isabella, the building underwent major reconstruction and was converted into the Casa del Cabildo, the seat of the municipal government, where the city’s notables would gather to carry out the administrative tasks for which they were then responsible. The greatest modifications to the building were made in the 18th century, and it was used until 1858 as the City Hall, which was transferred in that year to its current location in Plaza del Carmen.
In the centre of the building is a courtyard with lateral rooms around it, some originally containing the sleeping quarters of the teachers and students and others destined for teachng (iwan) and collective prayer. All that is preserved of this is an oratory, partially rebuilt in the 19th century, on a square plan with an octagonal cupola.
The Baroque façade is the result of the 18th century interventions, as is the current structure of the courtyard and the staircase to the main floor. Preserved on the latter, however, is an exceptional Mudejar timber ceiling over the Great Hall, known as the Hall of the Twenty-Four Knights.
Today, the building houses the cultural activities of the University of Granada and of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Granada.