Córdoba is a city in Argentina’s geographical center, in the Sierras Chicas foothills on the Suqua River, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) northwest of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. It is the seat of Córdoba Province and Argentina’s second largest city, behind Buenos Aires, with around 1.3 million residents as of the 2001 census. Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera established it on 6 July 1573 and called it Córdoba, Spain. It was one of the region’s original Spanish colonial capitals (the oldest city is Santiago del Estero, founded in 1553). The National University of Córdoba is the country’s first university and the second in Latin America. The Jesuit Order established it in 1613. As a result, Córdoba got the moniker La Docta (roughly translated, “the learned one”).
Córdoba contains several historical monuments from Spanish colonial authority, most notably Roman Catholic Church structures. Perhaps the most recognized structure is the Jesuit Block (Spanish: Manzana Jesutica), which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. It comprises of a collection of 17th-century structures, including the Colegio Nacional de Monserrat and the colonial university campus. Today, the site is home to the National Institution of Córdoba’s history museum, which has been the country’s second biggest university (after the University of Buenos Aires) in terms of students, professors, and academic programs since the early twentieth century. Córdoba is particularly well-known for its historical movements, such the Cordobazo and La Reforma del ’18. (known as University Revolution in English).