Guide turistiche

Guadalajara is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain, and in the natural region of La Alcarria. It is the capital of the province of Guadalajara. It is located roughly 60 km northeast of Madrid on the Henares River, and has a population of 75,493(2006).


History


Pre-Arab Settlements
It is known that in the area there was a Roman town called Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture. But there are no archeological proofs of it, only references to it in certain texts (such as the Ruta Antonina).

The former town of Guadalajara was founded by the Arabs in the VIII century, being a fortress on the border its chief function. They named it Wad-al-Hayara (??? ?????? or ???? ??????), meaning "River of Stones" or "Valley of the Fortress"; in theory the literal translation of the Iberian name (Arriaca) - "Stony River". The history of the town during the Arab times is not very well known. Some remains of that time are the Arab Bridge over the River Henares, the ruins of the old alcazar (Arab for 'castle') and the former Co-Cathedral of St. Mary, which was by then a mosque.

In 1085, Guadalajara was taken by the Christian forces of Alfonso VI (king of Leon and Castile). The chronicles say that the Christian army was led by Alvar Fanez de Minaya, one of the lieutenants (and according to the legend, brother in law) of El Cid. From 1085 until the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the city suffered wars against the Almoravid and the Almohad Empires. In spite of the wars, the new Christian population could definitely settle down in the area thanks to the repopulation with people from the North (Castilians from the mountains and Merindades, Basques and Navarreses mainly) who received their first fuero in 1133 from Alfonso VII. In 1219, the king Fernando III gave a new fuero to the city (the one know as Fuero Largo or Big Fuero). During the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, the protection of the king allowed the city to develop its economy by protecting merchants and allowing markets.

During the XIV Century, the Mendoza family was prominent in Guadalajara. This family included Íñigo López de Mendoza, also known as Marqués de Santillana (1398-1458), and Pedro González de Mendoza (1428-1495), Great Cardinal of Spain and adviser of the Catholic Monarchs. The Mendoza family held the title of Dukes and Duchesses of El Infantado from 1475. In 1460, King Enrique IV gave Guadalajara the title of 'City' and other privileges like the Cortes.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Guadalajara was sacked. Felipe V ordered the establishment of the Real Fábrica de Paños (Royal Factory of Clothes) which was situated in the Alcazar till the early XIX Century.

The 19th century started with two major setbacks: the damages caused by the Peninsular War (1808-1814) and the closing of the Real Fábrica de Paños in 1822. In 1808, Guadalajara was taken by the French Army led by General Hugo and the city was destroyed.

In 1840 Guadalajara was established as capital of the province with the same name by the Plan de Burgos. The Academy of Military Engineers was brought to the city. The development during the second half of the XIX Century till the first quarter of the XX Century was slow and centred on the developing of the administration without any special interest on industrial development.

After the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), that led to great damage to the city, Guadalajara was included in 1959 in the development plans, increasing specially the industry that was brought from the Descongestion of Madrid's Industrial Estates. Since then, Guadalajara has been one of the cities in Spain with greatest relative growith.

Nowadays, Guadalajara is involved in urban development plans that are quickly increasing the population of the city. New districts like Aguas Vivas (Live Waters) have recently been inaugurated. Ciudad Valdeluz will give 30.000 inhabitants more to Guadalajara, creating a whole brand new city around the AVE Station (Spanish High-Speed Trains).

The recent town-plannings have dramatically increased the cost of the new houses, changing in the last 10 years of being one of the cheapest provinces in Spain for house-buying to be the 3rd province in Spain with most expensive square meter.


Mayoralty


Since the 2003 local election, the Town Hall is controlled by a coalition (made up of social democratic party -PSOE- members and also one IU town councilor). J. Alique (from PSOE) helds the post of mayor since then. After 2007 local elections Antonio Román (PP) replaced Alique in the mayoralty.


Sights


The bridge across the Henares river is Arab but built on Roman foundations. It has several historic buildings such as the Palacio del Infantado, as well as many churches, such as the church of San Ginés. Although Guadalajara is the biggest city in its diocese, the cathedral is located in the nearby town of Sigüenza. However, in Guadalajara, there is a "co-cathedral": the church of Saint Mary, in Mudejar style. Very close to this church, is placed the chapel known as "Capilla de Luis de Lucena", which has several fresco paintings on its walls and ceiling.


Miscellaneous


The Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, was founded by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, a native of the Spanish Guadalajara.

The Coat of Arms of Guadalajara represents Alvar Fanez de Minaya entering in the town at night during the conquest.
Image:Escudo Guadalajara.jpg
Coat of Arms of Guadalajara

Distinguished people from or related to the town were:

- Alvar Fanez de Minaya, "Conqueror of Guadalajara for the Christianity".
- Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, founder of Guadalajara in Mexico.
- Antonio Buero Vallejo, writer of the XX Century.
- María Diega Desmaissières y Sevillano, Countess of Vega del Pozo and Duchess of Sevillano.
- Francisco Fernández Iparraguirre, pharmacist, linguist and botanist
- José Ortiz-Echagüe, militar engineer and photographer