Guadalajara, Spain

Encyclopedia : G : GU : GUA : Guadalajara, Spain

Guadalajara is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. 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 66,200 (2000).

Contents

1 History
2 Sights
3 Miscellaneous
4 Twin Towns
5 See also
6 References

History

Founded by the Iberians, it was in the hands of the Carpetani and named Arriaca (It. Ant. pp. 436, 438) when encounted by the Romans. The city, as Caracca (Greek: Κάραιεκα, Ptol. ii. 6. § 57; Geog. Rav. iv. 44) or Caraca (Ukert, i. 2. p. 429) 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).

Under Moorish rule, the city was called Wādī al-Ḥaǧārah (Arabic وادي الحجارة), or "stone river".

Sights

The bridge across the Henares river is built on Roman foundations. It has several historic buildings such as the Palacio del Infantado, as well as many churches.

Miscellaneous

A city in Mexico was named after this one.

Twin Towns

Guadalajara is twinned with towns.

They include:

Nuneaton - UK

Roanne - France

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1857).