Toledo Capital City

It has to one of the most breathtaking sights in the world. Compact, but well formed, Toledo lies serene on the banks of the river Tajo, confident in its intrinsic attraction and secure in its cultural roots.

It’s easy to imagine, as one stands in the magnificent balcony of the local Parador, how the first stitches of the tapestry of Spanish history were written here, how they developed with the rise and fall of magnificent warrior dynasties, and how they blossomed to form a fabric richly decorated with the golden thread of human genius.

Toledo, declared Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO, has a long and prodigious history. It was a fortified urban zone even in the era of the Iberians, before the arrival of the Romans who conquered it in the year 192 BC.

Later, after two hundred years of Roman rule, barbarian hordes invaded the by-now decadent empire. In the year 411, the Alanis captured the town, a short-lived victory as, seven years later, the Visigoths entered Toledo in triumph. By the 6th century, the Visigoths completely dominated the Peninsula, making Toledo the capital of Spain. This situation lasted until the arrival of the Moors in 711.

During the first three-and-a-half centuries of Muslim rule in Al Andalus, the city was known as 'Tolati-Tola'. This enlightened period saw the three major religious communities, Muslims, 'Mozarabes' (Christians living under Muslim rule in medieval Spain) and a significant Hebrew minority, all living relatively peaceably together.

Unfortunately, this relaxed situation didn’t last and in 1035, Alfonso VI of Castille captured the city making it his capital. In 1492, after the completion of the ‘Reconquest’ of Spain, the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand of Aragón and Isabella of Castille, expelled the Jews from Spain in an act that was to have disastrous consequences for the future development of Spain as a world power.

The move of the Spanish court from Toledo to Madrid under the rule of Philip II contributed to the decline not only of the city but, ultimately, of the Spanish Empire. In the 20th century, the last of the Spanish civil wars rent the country between 1936 and 1939. At the beginning of the struggle, Toledo acquired crucial psychological and propagandistic importance because, although the city was entirely in Republican hands, the besieged Alcázar (castle) in the city centre, remained firmly in the hands of the Guardia Civil loyal to the Nationalists cause and to their leader, General Francisco Franco. However, after the Nationalist victory, the city languished during four long decades of the ensuing dictatorship.

The city is filled with monuments that record a glittering dynastic past. The added attraction of the wonderful gastronomy from Castilla la Mancha mske Toledo a place to visit, stay and while and enjoy at length.

More information: http://www.guiarte.com/toledo/

Important Dates and Festivals

23rd January: San Ildefonso, Patron Saint.

Semana Santa in Toledo at the beginning of April is one of the most beautiful festivals of this type in Spain. Smaller yet more considered that that of its larger contemporaries, the processions maintain an intimacy that is lost in other cases. Streets are lined with rosemary, thyme and other aromatic herbs. The whole is an unforgettable experience.

Last week of August sees the Festival of Music from the Three Cultures (Moorish, Jewish and Christian).

November: International Jazz and Organ Festival