Regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Great Britain, Oxford can be easily described as a pure-blood English city. Excellently preserved and filled with majestic designs, Oxford is a blend of narrow alleys, houses built of honey-colored stone and guarded by statues representing weird looking animals. Through this unending number of amazing architectures one stands out as being one of the first libraries in the world, housing a real treasure of 5 million rare books as well as a valuable collection of manuscripts. The Bodleian Library was opened in 1602 with a donation of 256 manuscripts from the Duke of Gloucester and later financed by Sir Thomas Bodley. During your tour through Oxford you will notice that from place to place the town makes room for the covered galleries of the monasteries, while a number of 65 churches surrounded by hills, make Oxford a fascinating place with one of the most distinctive architecture in the world.
The emblem of the city is, as you would have expected, the University of Oxford complex that includes 40 independent colleges, the oldest of them being built in 1200. Oxford became a University in 1133 when it was decided that an elevate education for English clerics is mandatory. Oxford became a real University Campus once Henry II was crowned King of England.