Monday, November 12, 2007
Location of Alcalá
Alcalá de Henares, or Alcalá on the Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and formerly one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain. Located in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, 30 km northeast of the city of Madrid, at a height of 2000 feet above sea level, it has a population of around 200,000, the second largest of the region after the Spanish capital itself. The city is generally known simply as "Alcalá", but "de Henares" is often appended to differentiate it from a dozen cities sharing the name Alcalá (from a Moorish Arabic word for fortification). Capital of Comarca de Alcalá.
The surroundings of the town are austere and bleak, but it is protected by hills on the north and east sides.
History
The author Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, and baptized in the Church of Santa Maria in 1547, although his family moved from the city when he was still young. The city celebrates his birthday, 9 October, every year and organizes an annual Cervantes festival. The local university is acknowledged as a global leader in the study of Cervantes and his works.
Other notable figures associated with the city are Ferdinand I of Aragon, the mystic John of the Cross, the theologian Gabriel Vázquez, the poet Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita and Manuel Azaña Díaz, writer and politician, who was President of the II Republic of Spain betweem 1933 and 1936.
Historic figures
The town of historic importance was one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain.
The polyglot Bible known as the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first of the many similar Bibles produced during the revival of Biblical studies that took place in the sixteenth century, was printed at Alcalá under the care of Cardinal Cisneros.
A Papal Bull of 7 March, 1885, united Alcalá with (effectively merging it into) the diocese of Madrid which includes the civil province of Madrid, suffragan of the archbishopric of Toledo, which was formally speaking not canonically erected before while its foundation dated from the Spanish Concordat of 1851.
The bishop's residence has since been used for preserving historical archives. It was designed by Berruguete and has a famous staircase.
The principal towns within the Diocese of Alcalá with their populations in 1904, are: Alcalá itself (10,300), Colmenar de Oreja (3694), Colmenar Viejo (4758), Chinchon (4200), Escorial (4570), Getafe (3820), Leganes (5412), Morata (4000), Navalcarnero (3788), Pinto (2396), San Martin de Valdeiglesias (3290), San Sebastian de los Reyes (1477), Tetuan (2825), Torrejon (3081), Valdemoro (2726) and Vallecas (5625).
The University
The climate in this city of central Spain is the continentalised Mediterranean, with cold, dry winters and hot, dry summers. Rains fall mainly in spring and autumn. Temperatures vary from some degrees below 0ºC in December and January to some over 40ºC in July and August.
Climate
At an average of 654 m of altitude, on the southern part of the Meseta Central and occupying some 88 km²; the city was for a long time encapsuled between the hills and the river Henares to the south and east by the Madrid-Barcelona railway on the north and west. However, the expanding population has forced two new residential areas to be created between the railway and the motorway and beyond the latter. The historical centre lies roughly in the middle of the urban area. It is characterised by lower, Spanish Golden Age buildings, of which the most lavish belong to the University. These historic buildings gained for the city the title of World Heritage Site, awarded by the UNESCO in 1998.
Surrounding it there are the awful, high, swiftly built blocks of the 1960's, the Francoist era. They fill spaces to the north up to the railway line and to the west until the industrial zone begins. This was erected in the early 60s and has developed and expanded. Now it occupies a good third of the city's area being cut by the mentioned railway and motorway. To the east, the old blocks limit with a more recent area of lower blocks with gardens and (semi-)detached houses. This kind of construction also makes up the landscape of the new districts beyond the railway and the motorway.
The river remains widely underused. Although there are plans now in force to reconvert it into a major leisure place for the alcalaínos, it still presents no more than fairly good tracks for cycling and walking.
Geography
Some 18% of the population are of foreign origin, a large part of the newcomers (30%) are immigrants from Eastern Europe. Many Chinese businesses have also been established in the city.
Immigration
Alcalá's excellent transport links with Madrid have led to its becoming a commuter town, with many of its inhabitants travelling to work in the capital. It was affected particularly badly by the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid as the bombed trains all originated at or passed through Alcalá.
Twinning
Lublin, Poland
San Diego, USA
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