Vergara, Spain/vergara180
Previous | Home | NextThis is Seminario Vergara (Real Seminario Patriotico = Royal Patriotic Seminary), founded in 1770 by Carlos III of Spain, in the Plaza de San Martin de Aguirre. In the photo, the canopy with "Bergarako Udala" means "City of Vergara" -- an official function is to be held today by the municipality of Vergara. In 1781 the two Elhuyar brothers -- Don Fausto de Elhuyar and Juan José de Elhuyar -- who had been studying at Freiberg {LINK: Freiberg Germany} , arrived at Seminario Vergara. These two brothers in 1783 were successful in preparing for the first time metallic tungsten, by a straightforward procedure of heating tungstic acid and powdered charcoal in a sealed crucible. When the crucible was broken open, a crumbling black button was found with pinhead-sized metallic globules of metallic tungsten.
