History

Forest science had its origin in the German states. In Spain, it began during the Age of Enlightenment, as a result of the publication of ‘Report on the Agrarian Law’ by Jovellanos. The involvement of professionals in silviculture and gardening, such as the Frenchman Duhamel de Monceau, had a decisive influence on a new way of understanding forest exploitation, in which scientific and economic criteria formed the backbone of this activity.

Legal changes resulting from the bourgeois revolution, during the first third of the nineteenth century, led to a renewed interest in forest issues and in the search for new economic models in order to optimize production resources in agriculture. This led to remarkable changes in which professionals in Agricultural and Forest Sciences were of great importance in bringing about a more productive redistribution of the land.
From a legal point of view, Forest Science began in Spain in 1833, with the publication of the ‘General Forest Regulations’ (Ordenanzas Generales de Montes). This was the starting point for the foundation of the Corps of Forest Engineers and the School of Forest Engineers.
The School of Forest Engineers (Escuela de Ingenieros de Montes) was founded in 1846, using as a model the Forestry Faculty in Tharandt (Germany), known as the ‘nursery of European forest education’. It was Agustín Pascual who introduced forest science in Spain.
The establishment of this school was part of a tendency at that time to create new technical institutions. The objective was the industrial and economic development of the country by supplying highly qualified professionals - other institutions were the Schools of Agriculture and Civil Engineering. These institutions were ultimately crucial to the development of Spanish science in the nineteenth century.
The aims of the school, according to the documents kept from that period, were threefold: eminently practical training, instruction - not based on vain theories, but on the practice - and transmitting the students an esprit de corps. The motto of the School shield leaves no doubt: ‘Knowing is acting; he who does not act does not know’ (Saber es hacer, el que no hace no sabe).
The curriculum, based on Mathematics and Natural Physical-Chemical Sciences, was set at four years. The first year comprised Applied Mathematics and Drawing; the second, Topography and Forest Management; the third, Natural Sciences and the last year comprised Forest Sciences specifically.

The first headquarters of the School of Forestry was the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón, belonging to the House of Chinchón. Built during the Middle Ages, the castle was later destroyed and rebuilt during the sixteenth century by Juan de Herrera.

CASTLE OF VILLAVICIOSA DE ODÓN

In 1870 the School was moved to the ‘House of Crafts’ in El Escorial, where it stayed until 1914. The relocation was mainly due to three reasons. Firstly, it was necessary to reduce the state spending in renting the Castle of Villaviciosa and the experimental fields. Secondly, it was a response to the increasing need for bigger buildings and, finally, the desire to establish the centre in a predominantly forestry area, with the possibility of having forests and mountains for research and training.

SCHOOL OF FOREST ENGINEERS
HOUSE OF CRAFTS at El Escorial

The isolation of the School, far from the university libraries and other educational institutions, led to the school moving again in 1914, now to Madrid city. This was a controversial issue, that split the students into two groups: supporters of safeguarding the rural essence of teaching and thus remaining in El Escorial, and those who felt imperative the immediate incorporation of the School to the university environment of the city.

The first headquarters in Madrid were in the School of Mining and Industry. A few months later, two buildings, in the streets Rey Francisco and Tutor, were rented, and the School was housed there until 1936.

Currently, the School of Forest Engineers is part of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Located since 1945 in the northeast of the University City in a lovely setting surrounded by vegetation, the School conducts studies and qualifications of ‘Forest Engineer’ and ‘PhD in Forest Engineering’.

SCHOOL OF FOREST ENGINEERS AT PRESENT

From the book 150 años de la Ingeniería de Montes en España, by Luis García Esteban.