Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha

Guadalajara
Guadalajara
	— Municipality —
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Guadalajara Location in Spain
	Guadalajara Location in the Province of Guadalajara
	Coordinates: 40°37′59″N 3°10′0″W / 40.63306°N 3.166667°WCoordinates: 40°37′59″N 3°10′0″W / 40.63306°N 3.166667°W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castile-La Mancha
Province	Guadalajara
Comarca	La Alcarria
Valley	Río Henares
Judicial district	Guadalajara
Founded	8th century; possible prior Iberian origin
	Government
• Alcalde	Antonio Román Jasanada (PP)
	Area
• Total	235.51 km2 (90.9 sq mi)
Elevation	708 m (2,323 ft)
Highest elevation	972 m (3,189 ft)
Lowest elevation	620 m (2,034 ft)
	Population (2010)
• Total	83.789
• Density	0.4/km2 (0.9/sq mi)
Demonym	Guadalajareño/a, arriacense, caracense and alcarreño/a (common throughout the region of La Alcarria)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	19001–5
Dialing code	949
Official language(s)
Website	Official website

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For other uses, see Guadalajara (disambiguation).

Guadalajara (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) 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 83,789 (2010). Not to be confused with Guadalajara of Mexico.

[edit] History

Remains of the 'Alcázar of Guadalajara', built in the 9th century

The medieval 'Torreón de Álvar Fáñez'

'Concatedral de Santa María de Guadalajara', was built in the 13th and 14th centuries

[edit] Pre-Arab settlements

A Roman town called Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture, is known to have been located in that region. There is however no archeological proof of its existence, only references in texts such as the Ruta Antonina, which describe it as being in the hands of the Carpetani^[1] when encountered by the Romans. The city, as Caracca,^[2] was incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The city was on the high road from Emerita (modern Mérida) to Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza), 22 M. P. northeast of Complutum (modern Alcalá de Henares).

[edit] Arabic foundation

The town of Guadalajara was founded by the Moors in the 8th century. They named it Wadi-al-Hejara (وادي الحجارة), meaning "Valley of Stones"; in theory the literal translation of the Iberian name (Arriaca), meaning "Stony River".

The history of the town during the Muslim period was significant. They built monuments including the Moorish Bridge over the Henares river, the now ruined old Alcázar (Arabic for "palace"), and a mosque which later became the former Cathedral of St. Mary.

[edit] Christian conquest and Middle Ages

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, nephew) 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 known 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.

[edit] Renaissance

During the 14th 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 Henry IV gave Guadalajara the title of 'City' and other privileges like the Cortes.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Guadalajara was sacked. King Philip V ordered the establishment of the Real Fábrica de Paños (Royal Factory of Clothes) which was situated in the Alcazar till the early 19th Century.

In this period, the Mendoza Family ordered the building of El Palacio del Infantado as their main residence. It was completed in the early 1480s and it is considered by many the oldest surviving building built in a pure Renissance style outside Italy.

Frontal façade of the 'Palacio del Infantado' (15th century)

[edit] Contemporary times

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 19th Century till the first quarter of the 20th 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 addressing the congestion of Madrid's industrial estates (El Plan de Descongestión Industrial de Madrid en Castilla-La Mancha). These plans attempted to move industrial and accompanying residential growth to the periphery, resulting in increased industry presence in Guadalajara. Since then, Guadalajara has been one of the cities in Spain with greatest relative growth.

The José Cabrera Nuclear Power Station (better known as Zorita) was the first nuclear generator in Spain, and constructed within the area, situated beside the river Tajo . The installation was run by Unión Fenosa, and the site is now owned by its successor Gas Natural.The government of Spain closed its operations via a resolution of 20 April 2006,^[3] and it was subsequently disconnected from the electrical grid.^[4]

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.

Church of Asunción in Usanos.

Ciudad Valdeluz was planned to increase the number of inhabitants of Guadalajara by 30,000, creating a whole brand new city around the AVE Station (Spanish High-Speed Trains). Unfortunately the company investing in the construction of Ciudad Valdeluz went bankrupt. Less than 500 inhabitants decided to occupy their flats and the remaining infrastructure is currently in slow degradation. The AVE trains are used by only 60 passengers a day.^[5]

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.

[edit] Mayoralty

Since the 2003 local election, the Town Hall is controlled by a coalition made up of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) members and also one IU town councilor. J. Alique (PSOE) has held the post of Mayor since then. Following the 2007 local elections Antonio Román (People's Party) replaced Alique in the mayoralty.

[edit] Main 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.

[edit] Miscellaneous

A street of Guadalajara

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.

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, 20th century writer.
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
Jose de Creeft, famous sculptor born in Guadalajara

[edit] Twin towns — sister cities

Principal avenue of the Concordia Park

Guadalajara is twinned with:

[edit] Climate

Guadalajara enjoys a Mediterranean climate however, during winter months, cold temperatures often prevail. This can be accountable due to its inland location and high elevation meaning a less pronounced moderated influence from the sea.

Climate data for Guadalajara, Castilla La-Mancha (1971 - 2000) data
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	8.2 (46.8)	10.3 (50.5)	13.3 (55.9)	14.7 (58.5)	18.9 (66.0)	24.1 (75.4)	28.7 (83.7)	28.5 (83.3)	24.0 (75.2)	17.6 (63.7)	12.0 (53.6)	8.8 (47.8)	17.4 (63.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	2.4 (36.3)	3.8 (38.8)	5.8 (42.4)	7.8 (46.0)	11.8 (53.2)	16.1 (61.0)	19.5 (67.1)	19.4 (66.9)	15.5 (59.9)	10.5 (50.9)	5.8 (42.4)	3.4 (38.1)	10.2 (50.4)
Average low °C (°F)	−3.5 (25.7)	−2.7 (27.1)	−1.6 (29.1)	1.0 (33.8)	4.7 (40.5)	8.1 (46.6)	10.3 (50.5)	10.3 (50.5)	7.1 (44.8)	3.4 (38.1)	−0.5 (31.1)	−2 (28.4)	2.9 (37.2)
Precipitation mm (inches)	31 (1.22)	31 (1.22)	31 (1.22)	54 (2.13)	74 (2.91)	51 (2.01)	29 (1.14)	29 (1.14)	44 (1.73)	46 (1.81)	39 (1.54)	41 (1.61)	500 (19.69)
Avg. rainy days	6	6	6	9	10	7	4	4	5	7	6	8	78
Avg. snowy days	4	4	3	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	19
Sunshine hours	137	150	196	186	219	270	328	307	228	178	136	112	2,440
Source: ^[6]