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Saint Didacus, known as San Diego in Spanish, was born in Alcalá de Henares and is the namesake for the city of San Diego, United States. Alcalá de Henares is the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon; it is twinned with the English city of Peterborough in England, her final resting place.
Alcalá de Henares is the birthplace of the author Miguel de Cervantes (who in his great novel Don Quixote referred to the city as the Great Complute), the emperor Ferdinand I, and Catherine of Aragon (first wife of the English king Henry VIII).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 18, 2023 · With a population of approximately 200,000 residents, Alcalá de Henares is a vibrant mix of history, culture, and modernity. Best Things to Do in Alcalá de Henares 1. Explore the Enchanting Old Town (Casco Antiguo) of Alcalá de Henares. From the train station to the centric part of Alcalá de Henares, it is approximately 15 minutes on foot.
- inigo@sensationalspain.com
- August 13, 1989
- First Settlements in Alcala de Henares
- History of Alcala During Roman Times
- History of Alcala During Muslim Era
- History of Alcala in The Middle Age
- History of Alcala from The Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century
- History of Alcala from The Nineteenth Century to The Present
Even though we don’t know precisely the origin of the first human settlements in Alcalá, archaeological remains tell us the exact locations of the Neolithic population and that of the Bronze Age. They were located in the south hills of the present-day town. In one of these hills (San Juan del Viso) we can find signs of what could have been a Celtib...
Alcalá was already an important city which even appeared on Roman road maps and Administrative Areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Complutum, as Alcalá was called in this time, is a name that it’s believed that it came from ‘compluvium’, a latin word which means ‘place where water converge’ since there are many streams meeting in here: Camarmilla and T...
Alcalá didn’t change its location during Muslim times, even though a small military fort, known as Qal’at Abd al-Sälam, was built during the ninth century in the outskirts, near the hill Ecce Homo. To this location came some inhabitants seeking mainly protection. In front of the chapel Nuestra Señora del Val some vestiges of the tower and traces of...
The archbishop of Toledo conquered Alkal’a Nahar in 1118. The archbishopric of Toledo would control Alcalá and its land beginning in 1126, when the King Alfonso VII allowed it.The intervention of archbishops of Toledoin Alcalá was clearly visible for the population: 1. Gonzalo Petrez created a General Studies School in 1223 2. Gil de Albornoz devel...
In 1497, Cardinal Cisneros was promoted to Archbishop of Toledo. He fostered the construction of the Cathedral of Santos Niños, as well as several monasteries in the city and the Complutense University, his main project. The University Complutense meant a lot to Alcalá. Cisneros designed not only an University but an organized Renaissance city. The...
The Nineteenth century is a time of disasters. There was the Peninsular War (1808-1814), Ecclesiastical Confiscations and the Complutense University moved to Madridbecause a lack of students. Every building ever belonging to the university changed its activity, serving as barracks or other military uses. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was a disa...
Alcalá de Henares, located in the Community of Madrid, became the first planned university city in the world with the construction of its university in the 16th century. Today, both the...
Alcala de Henares, a small town near Madrid, is a home of Spain’s most prestigious university and the birthplace of great Spanish novelist, Miguel de Cervantes, so this city breathes with two things – university and Don Quijote.
The Roman city of Complutum it was located next to the river Henares, in a privileged position with respect to the fertile valleys that define the landscapes of the southern part of the current Community. The oldest documented archaeological remains belong to a village from the Chalcolithic period.
