- Toledo, Spain
Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Historic City of Toledo
State Party = ESP
Population = 78.908 (2007)
Type = Cultural
Criteria = i, ii, iii, iv
ID = 379
Region = Europe
Year = 1986
Session = 10th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/379Toledo (
Latin : Toletum) is acity andmunicipality located in centralSpain , 70km south ofMadrid . It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community ofCastile-La Mancha . It was declared aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of theSpanish Empire and place of coexistence ofChristian ,Jewish andMoorish cultures. Many famous people and artists were born or lived in Toledo, includingGarcilaso de la Vega ,Alfonso X andEl Greco , and it was the place of important historic events such as the VisigothicCouncils of Toledo .As of 2007 , the city has a population of 78.618 and an area of 232.1 km² (89.59 square miles).Toledo once served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning with
Liuvigild (Leovigild), and was the capital until theMoors conquered Iberia in the 8th century. Under the Caliphate of Cordoba, Toledo enjoyed a golden age. This extensive period is known asLa Convivencia , i.e. the co-existence ofJews ,Christians , andMuslims . Under Arab rule, Toledo was called Tulaytulah (Arabic طليطلة, academically transliterated unicode|Ṭulayṭulah).On
May 25 ,1085 Alfonso VI of Castile took Toledo and established direct personal control over the Moorish city from which he had been exacting tribute, and ending the mediaevalTaifa 'sKingdom of Toledo . This was the first concrete step taken by the combined kingdom of Leon-Castile in theReconquista by Christian forces.Toledo was famed for its production of
iron and especially ofsword s and the city is still a center for the manufacture of knives and other steel implements.When Philip II moved the royal court from Toledo toMadrid in 1561, the old city went into a slow decline from which it never recovered.Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a
military academy . At the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.Arts and culture
Toledo reached its zenith in the era of
Islamic Caliphate . Historian P. de Gayangos writes:The Muslim scientists of this age were unrivaled in the world. Perhaps among their greatest feats were the famous waterlocks of Toledo. [ [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/toledo.html "Glory days of Toledo"] ]
The old city is located on a mountaintop and it gets up to 150 degrees, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the
Tagus River , and contains many historical sites, including the Alcázar, the cathedral (the primate church of Spain), and the Zocodover, a central market place.From the 4th century to the 16th century about thirty
synod s were held at Toledo. The earliest, directed againstPriscillian , assembled in 400. At the synod of 589 the Visigothic KingReccared declared his conversion fromArianism ; the synod of 633 decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent measures against baptized Jews who had relapsed into their former faith. The council of 681 assured to the archbishop of Toledo the primacy of Spain.As nearly one hundred early canons of Toledo found a place in the "
Decretum Gratiani ", they exerted an important influence on the development of ecclesiastical law. The synod of 1565–1566 concerned itself with the execution of the decrees of theCouncil of Trent ; and the last council held at Toledo, 1582–1583, was guided in detail by Philip II.Toledo was famed for religious tolerance and had large communities of Muslims and Jews until they were expelled from Spain in 1492 (Jews) and 1502 (Muslims). Today's city contains the religious monuments the
Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca , theSynagogue of El Transito , and theMosque of Cristo de la Luz dating from before the expulsion, still maintained in good condition. AmongLadino -speakingSephardi Jews, in their various diasporas, the family nameToledano is still prevalent - indicating an ancestry traced back to this city (the name is also attensted among non-Jews in various Spanish-speaking countries).In the 13th century, Toledo was a major cultural center under the guidance of Alfonso X, called "El Sabio" ("the Wise") for his love of learning. The program of translations, begun under Archbishop Raymond of Toledo, continued to bring vast stores of knowledge to Europe by rendering great academic and philosophical works in Arabic into Latin.
The
Cathedral of Toledo ("Catedral de Toledo") was built between 1226-1493 and modeled after theBourges Cathedral, though it also combines some characteristics of theMudéjar style. It is remarkable for its incorporation of light and features theBaroque altar called "El Transparente ", several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, paintings, bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, a masterpiece ofmedieval mixed media byNarciso Tomé topped by the daily effect for just a few minutes of a shaft of light from which this feature of the cathedral derives its name. Two notable bridges secured access to Toledo across the Tajo, thePuente de Alcántara and the later built Puente de San Martín.Toledo was home to
El Greco for the latter part of his life, and is the subject of some of his most famous paintings, including "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz ", exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé.Additionally, the city was renowned throughout the Middle Ages and into the present day as an important center for the production of swords and other bladed instruments.
Gallery
Demography
Demography 5col|510px|1991|1996|2001|2004|2006
59,000|66,006|68,382|73,485|77,601Sister cities *
Konya , TUR
*Aachen , GER
* Nara, JPN
*Havana , CUB
* Toledo, USA
*Jerusalem , ISR
*Veliko Tarnovo , BUL
*Poznań , POLSee also
*
Spain
*Iberian Peninsula
*Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula
*Kingdom of Toledo References
*SmithDGRG
External links
* [http://www.ayto-toledo.org/ Municipality]
* [http://www.toledosattic.org/details.asp?did=115 Exhibit on Toledo, Ohio Sister City Agreement]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.