Alcalá de Henares

The obverse (common to the five pieces) shows the UNESCO logo accompanied, right, for the official emblem of the World Heritage Convention.

The reverse shows an image of the Plaza de Cervantes, Alcala de Henares, and in the foreground, the monument erected to the author of "Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha".

The city of Alcalá de Henares, which saw the birth of Miguel de Cervantes in 1547, was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 2, 1998. This UNESCO recognition not only refers to the historical and artistic heritage that treasures the Complutense city but also to the trancesdente Alcalá contribution to world culture. UNESCO declared at the summit in Kyoto "University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares" deserved to be included in the list of World Heritage inscription justicando based on the fulfillment of three criteria:

Criterion II. Alcalá de Henares is the first city designed and built especially to host a university, and this design would serve as a model for other schools in Europe and America.

Criterion IV. The concept of ideal city, the City of God Civitas Dei, materialized for the first time in Alcala de Henares, from where it was irradiated to the whole world

Criterion VI. The Contribution of Alcalá de Henares to the intellectual development of humanity shown in the embodiment of Civitas DeiIn the linguistic developments that took place in the city, especially as regards the Spanish language, and through the work of its most famous son, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and his masterpiece Don Quixote.