Loja, Granada
Loja | |
|---|---|
 Bell Tower of the Church of the Incarnation. | |
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |
.png) Location of Loja in the Province of Granada. | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Autonomous community |  Andalusia |
| 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 | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 18300 |
| Website | Official website |
Loja (formerly Loxa)[1] 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.
Loja has sometimes been identified with the ancient Ilipula, or with the Lacibi (Lacibis) of Pliny and Ptolemy.[1] It is unknown when Loja was first captured by the Moors; most likely this happened in the 8th century. It first clearly emerges in the Arab chronicles of the year 890.[1] It was taken by Ferdinand III in 1226, but was soon afterwards abandoned.[1] Its Moorish name, Medina Lawsa, was changed 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
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.
Notes
- ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
References
- Days in the Sun by Martin Andersen Nexo (1929)
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