| Toledo (Spain), city, central Spain, capital of Castile-La Mancha region and of Toledo Province, on the Tagus River, near Madrid.
The city is built on a promontory, about 732 m (about 2400 ft) above sea level, bordered
on three sides by a gorge in the Tagus, with the land side protected by an inner and outer
wall. The most famous industry is the manufacture of Damascene swords, both by private
companies and by a government factory. Other manufactures include beer, confectionery,
church ornaments, textiles, bricks, and fans. |
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Toledo has many towers, old gates, narrow, winding streets, massive houses, and
predominantly Moorish architecture, which give it a medieval atmosphere. In the center of
the city rises the principal edifice, a Gothic cathedral (1227-1493) with 40 chapels.
Other noteworthy architectural features are the Gothic Church of San Juan de los Reyes and
its adjoining convent, a gift (1476) of Ferdinand V, king of Castile, and his wife
Isabella I. The churches of Toledo contain some of the greatest works of art in Spain,
notably those by the painter El Greco. On the highest ground stands the Alcazar, a vast, square edifice with
four towers, now a military academy, around which the houses of Toledo are grouped in a
semicircle. The Plaza de Zocodover, built in the 7th century and later rebuilt by Moorish
invaders, is a fashionable promenade. |
| Of pre-Roman origin, the city fell to the Romans about 193 BC and was named Toletum.
From about AD 534 to 712, Toledo was the capital of the Visigothic kingdom in Spain and
because a great ecclesiastical center. After its conquest (712) by the Moors, the city
became an important Moorish center and in the 11th century the capital of a short-lived
Moorish kingdom (1035-85). In 1085, after a memorable siege, the city was captured by the
forces of Castile and annexed to the Castilian realms, of which it was made the capital
(1087-1560). From July to September 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, rebel forces in
the Alcazar were besieged for 70 days by Loyalist, or Republican, forces. Population
(1991) 63,561. |
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