The university town of Oxford, located northwest of London, has become famous due to one of the oldest higher education institutions in the world. Of the 150,000 people in the city, one in five is a student. However, the atmosphere of casual fun, a thirst for knowledge and a sincere faith in science attracts not only those wishing to study in this place. Be sure to stay here for a few days to inspect all the sights of a small city.

For 9 centuries, Oxford University was formed as a unique complex, in which 38 autonomous colleges and 6 private closed institutions operate today and interact (belong to religious orders ), as well as 4 museums and a giant library. Anyone can get into the spirit of antiquity and look at modern technologies in training.

To specify the date of the foundation of the university is quite difficult . However history shows that teaching began in Oxford since 1167 when King Henry II forbade English students to study at the Sorbonne . The oldest are the University College (The University College, founded in 1249), Balliol (1260) and Merton (1264) . The largest and most aristocratic college is rightly called Christ- Church (Christ Church), built in 1546 by order of Henr ha VIII . Magdalen College is not inferior in beauty, founded in 1458 by one of the teachers at Winchester College . The Belltower and the Magdalene Bridge became a symbol of the city, and the college choir every year on May 1 on the tower sings the communion hymn .The youngest is the Green Templeton College, which exists since 2008, .

In addition to the finest colleges on the territory of the University, it is necessary to visit unique museums and a library. The Bodleian Library (The Bodleian Library) was founded in 1598. This is the largest library in Oxford, it has more than 11 million books. The priceless collection stores unique copies of the oldest books, for example the Gutenberg Bible or the Magna Carta, as well as over 10,000 medieval manuscripts. Archives can be used not only by students, but also by city residents, who are around 40% among library readers.

The Ashmolean Museum was founded in 1683. It is the first museum in England to be visited. Here you can see the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Constable. And also valuable rarities - the Stradivarius violin "Messiah", the ceremonial attire of Lawrence of Arabia, the death mask of Cromwell, the lantern of Guy Fawks.

Oxford University gave the world about 50 Nobel Prize winners. In addition, alumni at different times were such famous people as Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Hugh Grant, Margaret Thatcher, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde, John Locke, Jonathan Swift, John Ronald Ruel Tolkien and many others. The Museum of Natural History of Oxford University has not only scientific but also architectural value . The museum building was built between 1855 and 1860 in the style of neo-Gothic . If you are traveling with children , then you just need to visit this place . The main exposition is valuable e skeletons of dinosaurs and mammoths .The famous exhibit of the museum is the extinct non-flying bird Dodo, who became the character of the book of Lewis Carroll's book "Alice in Wonderland" .Oxford Dodo is the most preserved exhibit in the world..A separate stand is dedicated to him, which is decorated in the style of a book so beloved by the British..

Practical information

Oxford is 90 km from London. From the city you can get in any convenient way for you: by taxi, bus or train. Every 30 minutes from London Paddington station (train station Paddington in northwestern London) a train leaves for Oxford. Or to a campus from several points in London every 10-20 minutes you can take a bus.

College Merton, Oxford University

College of the Magdalene, Oxford University

Balliol College, University of Oxford

Green Templeton, Oxford University,

College Christ Church, Oxford University