Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá de Henares is a commune of Spain, located in the Province of Madrid (autonomous Communauté of Madrid). Its population is approximately 200.000 inhabitants (2004) and with the honor to appear in the World heritage of UNESCO since 1998. It is also the birthplace several famous characters, among whom: Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quichotte, and Manual Azaña, last president of the Second Spanish Republic. Alcalá belongs to the area of the " Corredor del Henares" , it is the capital.

History

The territory of Alcalá was already populated before the arrival of the Romans who developed it and gave him the name of " Complutum". It remained an important municipality for the visigothic period.

After the Arab invasion of 711, it was destroyed and rebuilt under the name which it carries today (beside that of the river which borders it): " Al-Qala" results in “the fort”. Alcalá took importance during its designation like place of stay of the archbishop of Tolède at the end of the 15th century. After that, the archbishop, Cardinal Cisneros, ordered also the construction of his university, the Universidad Complutense, one of oldest of Europe.

Antonio de Nebrija, author of the first European grammar is buried there.

The time of splendor of the city coincides with the period that one names El Siglo de Oro, ranging between the XVI and the XVII, when the Spanish literature and the culture became dominating. Its fall amorça when the university was delocalized in Madrid at the 19th century. In the years 1900, always second provincial town of Madrid, Alcalá grows like industrial town. But, unlike the villages close to Madrid which knew an expansion with the demographic boom of the Spanish capital, Alcalá kept its own character, thanks to its history and with the work of its neighbors to preserve it and who were interested in the rebuilding of the old university buildings. These actions made it possible to support the candidature of the city UNESCO, which was accepted.

Recently, Alcalá made speak about it, in painful circumstances. The March 11th, 2004, it was the place of loading of the explosive devices aboard the suburban trains which served Madrid. The majority of the victims of these attacks was for the majority of the inhabitants of Alcalá. Little time after, the city set up a monument with the memory of all the killed people.

Famous characters

Twinnings

The city is twinned with the towns of

See Too

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Simple: Alcalá de Henares

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