Toledo, Spain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Toledo | |||
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| Settled | ca. 7th Century B.C. | ||
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| Government | |||
| - Mayor-President | Emiliano García-Page Sánchez (PSOE) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 78,618 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Website | Municipality of Toledo (Spanish) | ||
| Historic City of Toledo* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
 Old city of Toledo |
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| State Party |  Spain |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv |
| Reference | 379 |
| Region** | Europe |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Toledo (Latin: Toletum) is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures. Many famous people and artists were born or lived in Toledo, including Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo , Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo. As of 2007[update], the city has a population of 78,618 and an area of 232.1 km2 (89.59 square miles).
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[edit] History
Having been populated since the Bronze Age, Toledo (Toletum in Latin) gained relevance during Roman times, being a main commercial and administrative center in the roman province of Tarraconensis. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Toledo served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning with Liuvigild (Leovigild), and was the capital of Spain until the Moors conquered Iberia in the 8th century.
Under the Caliphate of Cordoba, Toledo enjoyed a golden age. This extensive period is known as La Convivencia, i.e. the co-existence of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Under Arab rule, Toledo was called Tulaytulah (Arabic طليطلة, academically transliterated Ṭulayṭulah). After the fall of the Caliphate, Toledo was the capital city of one of the richest Taifa Muslim kingdoms of Al-Andalus, and, because of its central location in the Iberian Peninsula, Toledo took a central position in the struggles between the Muslim and Christian rulers of northern Spain.
On May 25, 1085 Alfonso VI of Castile took Toledo and established direct personal control over the Moorish city from which he had been exacting tribute, and ending the mediaeval Taifa's Kingdom of Toledo. This was the first concrete step taken by the combined kingdom of Leon-Castile in the Reconquista by Christian forces. After castilian conquest Toledo remained as a main cultural center; its Arab libraries weren't savaged, and a tag-team translation center was established, in which books in Arabic would be translated from Arabic or Hebrew to Spanish by Arab and Jewish scholars, and from Spanish to Latin by castilian scholars, thus letting the old-lost knowledge spread through Christian Europe again. For some time during the 16th century, Toledo served as the capital city of Castile, and the city flourished. However, soon enough the Spanish court was moved first to Valladolid and then to Madrid, thus letting the city's relevance dwindle till the late 20th century, when it was established as the capital city of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Nevertheless, the economic decline of the city helped to preseve its cultural and architectural patrimony. Nowadays, because of its rich heritage, Toledo is one of Spain's foremost cities, receiving thousands of visitors yearly.
Toledo's Alcázar (castilian word for palace-castle) became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.
[edit] Arts and culture
Toledo reached its zenith in the era of Islamic Caliphate. Historian P. de Gayangos writes:
The Muslim scientists of this age were unrivaled in the world. Perhaps among their greatest feats were the famous waterlocks of Toledo.[1]
The old city is located on a mountaintop with a 150 degrees view, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River, and contains many historical sites, including the Alcázar, the cathedral (the primate church of Spain), and the Zocodover, a central market place.
From the 4th century to the 16th century about thirty synods were held at Toledo. The earliest, directed against Priscillian, assembled in 400. At the synod of 589 the Visigothic King Reccared declared his conversion from Arianism; the synod of 633 decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent measures against baptized Jews who had relapsed into their former faith. The council of 681 assured to the archbishop of Toledo the primacy of Spain. At Guadamur, very close to Toledo, was dug in 1858 the Treasure of Guarrazar, the best example of Visigothic art in Spain.
As nearly one hundred early canons of Toledo found a place in the Decretum Gratiani, they exerted an important influence on the development of ecclesiastical law. The synod of 1565–1566 concerned itself with the execution of the decrees of the Council of Trent; and the last council held at Toledo, 1582–1583, was guided in detail by Philip II.
Toledo was famed for religious tolerance and had large communities of Muslims and Jews until they were expelled from Spain in 1492 (Jews) and 1502 (Muslims). Today's city contains the religious monuments the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, the Synagogue of El Transito, Mosque of Cristo de la Luz and the church of San Sebastián dating from before the expulsion, still maintained in good condition. Among Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jews, in their various diasporas, the family name Toledano is still prevalent - indicating an ancestry traced back to this city (the name is also attested among non-Jews in various Spanish-speaking countries).
In the 13th century, Toledo was a major cultural center under the guidance of Alfonso X, called "El Sabio" ("the Wise") for his love of learning. The program of translations, begun under Archbishop Raymond of Toledo, continued to bring vast stores of knowledge to Europe by rendering great academic and philosophical works in Arabic into Latin. The Palacio de Galiana, built in the Mudéjar style, is one of the monuments that remain from that period.
The Cathedral of Toledo (Catedral de Toledo) was built between 1226-1493 and modeled after the Bourges Cathedral, though it also combines some characteristics of the Mudejar style. It is remarkable for its incorporation of light and features the Baroque altar called El Transparente, several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, paintings, bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, a masterpiece of medieval mixed media by Narciso Tomé topped by the daily effect for just a few minutes of a shaft of light from which this feature of the cathedral derives its name. Two notable bridges secured access to Toledo across the Tajo, the Puente de Alcántara and the later built Puente de San Martín.
The Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes is a Franciscan monastery, built 1477-1504, in a remarkable combination of Gothic-Spanish-Flemish style with Mudéjar ornamentation.
Toledo was home to El Greco for the latter part of his life, and is the subject of some of his most famous paintings, including The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé.
Toledo was famed for its production of iron and especially of swords and the city is still a center for the manufacture of knives and other steel implements. When Philip II moved the royal court from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the old city went into a slow decline from which it never recovered.
The marzipan of Toledo is also consider one of its finest food products.
[edit] Gallery
 The Tagus River flows through Toledo |
 The bridge of San Martín over the Tagus River |
 A view across the river of the old wall of Toledo — August 2006 |
Old Toledo from across the Tagus River, April 2007 |
[edit] Demography
| 1991 | 1996 | 2001 | 2004 | 2006 |
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| 59,000 | 66,006 | 68,382 | 73,485 | 77,601 |
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities
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[edit] See also
- Spain
- Iberian Peninsula
- Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula
- Palacio de Galiana
- Kingdom of Toledo
[edit] References
- ^ Glory days of Toledo
- ^ "Sister Cities". Toledo Turismo. Patronato Municipal de Turismo. http://www.toledo-turismo.com/turismo/contenido/mas-toledo/toledo-historia/ciudades-hermanadas.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-10-16.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toledo |
- Municipality
- Exhibit on Toledo, Ohio Sister City Agreement
- Photography of Toledo by Antony Marsh
- http://historiadefermosa.com "La Historia de Fermosa" Abraham S. Marrache, Hebraica Ediciones 2009, a historical novel in Spanish about the love affair in 1179 between King Alfonso VIII of Castile and the young Toledan Jewess, Fermosa.
