Loja, Granada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Loja | |||
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 Loja
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| Coordinates: 37°10′N 04°9′W / 37.167°N 4.150°WCoordinates: 37°10′N 04°9′W / 37.167°N 4.150°W | |||
| Country |  Spain |
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| Autonomous community |  Andalusia |
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| Province | Granada | ||
| Comarca | Loja | ||
| Judicial district | Loja | ||
| Founded | 9th century BC | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Francisco Joaquín Camacho Borrego (2011) (PP) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 454.7 km2 (175.6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 448 m (1,470 ft) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 22,137 | ||
| • Density | 49/km2 (130/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Lojeños | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 18300 | ||
| Official language(s) | |||
| Website | Official website | ||
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Loja is a town in southern Spain, situated at the western limit of the province of Granada. It is surrounded by the so-called Sierra de Loja, of which the highest peak, Sierra Gorda, stands 1,671 metres above sea-level.
It is unknown when Loja was first captured by the Moors, however it is most likely in the 8th century. Its Moorish name was Medina Lawsa, and it was renamed to Loja when it was captured by the Christians in 1486, during the Reconquista. Isabella I of Castile called it the "flower among thorns".
Main sights [edit]
The town's Islamic heritage is still evident in the quarter of the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress of which most of the walls and towers remain.
Other sights include:
- Convent of Santa Clara (16th century)
- Convento of St. Francis of Assisi, including a 16th-century cloister
- Church of the Incarnation (16th-17th centuries)
- Church of San Gabriel (16th century)
- Church of Santa Catalina (16th-17th century)
- Church of N.tra S.ra Virgen de la Caridad (16th century)
- Hermitages of Jesus Nazareno, san Roque, and Calvario, 16th century chapels and sanctuaries
- Caseron de los Alcaides Cristianos (17th century)
- Palacio de Narvaez (17th century)
- Fuente de la Mora ("Fountain of the Moorish maiden"), also known as los venticinco canos, a fountain where waters from different springs are made to flow from twenty-five tubes.
References [edit]
- Days in the Sun by Martin Andersen Nexo (1929)
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