Granada

Granada
—  City  —
View of Granada
Flag Coat of arms
Granada Location of Granada
Coordinates:
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Andalusia
Province	Granada
Comarca	Vega de Granada
Founded
Government
- Type	Mayor-council
- Body	Ayuntamiento de Granada
- Mayor	José Torres Hurtado (PP)
Area
- Total	88 km2 (34 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL)	738 m (2,421 ft)
Population (2007)
- Total	237,929
- Density	2,703.7/km2 (7,002.7/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	18000
Area code(s)	+34 (Spain) + (Granada)
Website	Official website

Granada (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡɾaˈnaða]) is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.

The city of Granada is placed at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, Beiro, Darro and Genil, at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level yet only one hour from the Mediterrean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, where held FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996.

At the 2005 census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these (31%) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Airport.

The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is one of the most famous items of the Islamic historical legacy that makes Granada a hot spot among cultural and tourist cities in Spain. The Almohad urbanism with some fine examples of Moorish and Morisco constructions is preserved at the part of the city called the Albaicín.

Granada is also well-known within Spain due to the prestigious University of Granada and, nowadays, vibrant night-life. In fact, it is said that it is one of the three best cities for university students (the other two are Salamanca and Santiago de Compostela).

The pomegranate (in Spanish, 'granada') is the heraldic device of Granada.

History

Gates of Fajalauza, in the City Walls.

Early history

The city of Granada's origins were as an Ibero-Celtic settlement, which made contact in turn with the Phoenicians, the Carthagenians, and the Ancient Greeks. By the 5th century BCE, the Greeks had established a colony which they named Elibyrge or Elybirge (Greek: Ἐλιβύργη). Under the Ancient Roman rule of Hispania, in the early centuries CE, this city name had become "Illiberis". As Illiberis, the city minted its own coins as part of the economy of Hispania. As the Western Roman Empire fell the Visigoths maintained the importance of the city as a centre of both ecclesiastical and civil administration and also established it as a military stronghold. It was reconquered and ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire for a century.

Moorish Al Andalus

In 711 Moors, after the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, occupied large parts of the Iberian Peninsula establishing the Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain). The Moors maintained much of the Roman legacy, having had Roman infrastructure repaired and extended, using it for irrigation while introducing new agricultural practices and novel crops, such as citrus fruit and apricots in Granada. Beforehand the Jewish people had established a community on the edge of the city, called "Gárnata" or "Gárnata al-yahud" ('Granada of the Jews'). With the help of this community the Moorish forces, under Tariq ibn-Ziyad first took the city in 711, though it was not fully conquered until 713. The Jews referred to the city using the Iberian name "Ilbira", with the remaining Christian community calling it "Elvira". It became the capital of a province of the Caliphate of Cordoba. Civil conflicts that wracked the Caliphate in the early eleventh century led to the destruction of the city in 1010. In the subsequent reconstruction, the suburb of Gharnáta (Arabic: غَرْنَاطَة) was incorporated in the city, and the modern name in fact derives from this. With the arrival of the Zirid dynasty in 1013, Granada became an independent emirate Taifa of Granada. By the end of the eleventh century, the city had spread across the Darro to reach the hill of the future of the Alhambra, and included the Albayzín (also Albaicín or El Albaicín) neighborhood (a world heritage site). The Almohad dynasty ruled Granada in this period.

Nasrid Dynasty—Emirate of Granada

In 1228, with the departure of the Almohad prince, Idris, who left Iberia to take the Almohad leadership, the ambitious Ibn al-Ahmar established the longest lasting Muslim dynasty on the Iberian peninsula - the Nasrids. With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Cordoba in 1236, the Nasrids aligned themselves with Ferdinand III of Castile, officially becoming a tributary state in 1238. The state officially became the Emirate of Granada in 1238.

Granada was a tributary state to the Kingdom of Castile since 1238. It provided connections with the Muslim and Arab trade centers, particularly gold from sub-Saharan Africa, and the Maghreb. The Nasrids also supplied troops for Castile, from the Emirate and mercenaries from North Africa.

The Capitulation of Granada by F. Padilla: Muhammad XII before Ferdinand and Isabella.

Reconquista and the 16th century

Granada Cathedral as seen from Bib-Rambla Square

On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim sultan in Iberia, Emir Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Emirate of Granada, to Ferdinand II and Isabella I, Los Reyes Católicos ('The Catholic Monarchs'), after the last battle of the Granada War.

The 1492 surrender of the Islamic Emirate of Granada to los Reyes Catolicos is one of the more significant events in Granada's history and also the completion of the Reconquesta of Al Andalus. The terms of the surrender, the Alhambra Decree treaty, explicitly allowed the city's Muslim inhabitants to continue unmolested in their faith and customs, known as Mudéjar. By 1499, however, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros grew frustrated with the slow conversion efforts of Granada's first Archbishop, Fernando de Talavera, and undertook a program of forced Christian baptisms creating the Converso (convert) class for Moors (Morisco) and Jews (Marrano). Cisneros's new tactics, which were a direct violation of the terms of the treaty, provoked an armed Muslim revolt centered in the rural Alpujarras region southwest of the city. Responding to the rebellion in 1501, the Castilian Crown rescinded the Alhambra Decree treaty, and mandated that Granada's Muslims must convert or emigrate. With the 1492 Alhambra Decree Spain's Jewish population, unlike the Muslims, had already been forced to convert or be expelled-executed, becoming Marranos or Catholics of Jewish descent. Many of the elite Muslim class emigrated to North Africa. The majority of the Granada's Mudéjar Muslims stayed to convert, becoming Moriscos or Catholics of Moorish descent. Both populations of conversos were subject to persecution, execution, or exile, and each had a portion that practiced their original religion in secrecy.

Over the course of the sixteenth century, Granada took on an ever more Catholic and Castilian character, as immigrants came to the city from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The city's mosques were converted to Christian churches or completely destroyed. New structures, such as cathedral and the Chancillería, or Royal Court of Appeals, transformed the urban landscape. After the 1492 Alhambra decree, resulting in the majority of Granada's Jewish population being expelled, the Jewish quarter (ghetto) was demolished to make way for new Catholic and Castilian institutions and uses.

Legacy

The fall of Granada holds an significant place among the many important events that mark the latter half of the Spanish 15th century. It completed the reconquista of the eight hundred year-long Moorish civilization in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain, now without major internal territorial conflict, embarked on the great phase of exploration and colonization around the globe. In the same year the sailing expedition of Christopher Columbus became the first European sighting of the New World. The Americas enriched the crown and country, allowing Isabella I and Ferdinand II significant accomplishments in their reign. Subsequent conquests and colonization from the maritime expeditions they commissioned created the vast Spanish Empire, the largest in the world for a time.

Main sights

Catholic Kings Street (Calle Reyes Católicos)

Royal Gate (Puerta Real)

Moorish design and Spanish Gothic style architectural sites in Granada include:

• The Alhambra and Generalife
• The Palace of Charles V
• The Granada Cathedral
• The Royal Chapel of Granada (Capilla Real)-with the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand II; and Queen Joanna I and King Philip I
• The Albayzín, or Albaicín: The ancient Arab quarter, containing many original houses from the 16th century
• The Madrasah of Granada, founded in 1349 by the Nasrid monarch Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada as the first university in Granada; now part of the University of Granada
• The Charterhouse: A Carthusian monastery; one of the most impressive pieces of ornamental Baroque in Spain.
• Calle Calderería: An Albayzin street where you can taste typical Arab food, especially teas and desserts from North Africa
• El Cármen de los Mártires: A lovely palace with a beautiful botanical garden, near the Alhambra
• Santa Ana Church: 16th century, Mudéjar Style
• San Salvador Church: 16th century, Mudéjar Style. With a Moorish Almohad dynasty era patio from the former mosque
• El Corral del Carbón: Deposit of merchandise and shelter of merchants. Adapted after 16th century for theater plays
• Hospital Real: Founded in 1504 by the los Reyes Católicos, now part of the University
• Santo Domingo Church: Founded in 1512 by los Reyes Católicos
• San José Church: On the site of the "moans"
• Almorabitín, the mosque of the Almoravids, one of oldest in Granada, dating from the 10th century
• Sacromonte Abbey: Founded in the 17th century. Legend says that the catacombs under the church were the site of the martyrdom of San Cecilio, the city's first bishop and now its patron saint
• Old University: Originally Granada's Jesuit college, this building now houses the law school of the University of Granada. The building is particularly notable for its original 17th century façade.
• Bermejas Towers: Strongholds on the encircling wall of the Alhambra, they date from the 8th and 9th centuries
• Basilica of St. John of God (San Juan de Dios): The remains of this saint are preserved in this Baroque basilica.
• The Gate of Elvira: The principal gate to the old city. Part of the Moorish wall
• Casa de los Tiros, 16th century. With a complex iconographic program of sculpture and painting about Spanish history and full of cryptograms, it was the palace of Gil Vázquez-Rengifo, who helped the Catholic Monarchs in the fight for the city. Nowadays it is a museum where visitors can follow the history of Granada from the Middle Ages to the present day
• The 16th century Castril palace, home of the Archaeological Museum of Granada
• The Cube: The main building for CajaGranada, has won many international architects awards.
• Zaida Building: Situated in the city centre, this residential building designed by Alvaro Siza is a good example of modern architecture surrounded by historical structures

Although many Muslim buildings were destroyed by the Catholics, who forced conversion to Catholicism during the Christian era in Granada, those that remain comprise the most complete group of Moorish domestic architecture in Europe. Palaces like Dar al-Horra, or Alcazar Genil, or houses like the house of the Horno de Oro, the house of Chapiz, or the house of Abén Humeya, are only some of the most famous. Granada's public baths, like El Bañuelo or the Alhambra Baths, and the complex of Arab public fountains and wells (aljibes), are unique in Europe. The Nasrid infrastructure net (acequias) that feeds the public fountains and wells still functions in its majority. Among the best known of Granada's acequias are the Royal Acequia and the Cadí Acequia.

A panoramic view from Generalife

Districts

Albayzín neighbourhood

Battles Fountain (Fuente de las Batallas)

The Realejo

Realejo was the Jewish district at the time of the Nasride Granada. The Jewish population was so important, that Granada was known from the Al-Andalûs Country under the name of Granada de los judios (in Arabic, Garnata Al Yahood). It is today a district made up of many Andalusian villas, with gardens opening onto the streets, called Los Carmenes.

The Cartuja

This district contains the Carthusian monastery of the same name: Cartuja. This is an old monastery started in a late Gothic style with Baroque exuberant interior decorations. In this district also, many buildings were created with the extension of the University of Granada.

Bib-Rambla

The toponym existed at the time of the Arabs. Nowadays, Bib-Rambla is a high point for gastronomy, especially in its terraces of restaurants, open on beautiful days. The Arab bazaar (Alcaicería) is made up of several narrow streets, which start from this place and continue as far as the cathedral.

Sacromonte

The Sacromonte neighbourhood is located on the extension of the hill of Albaicín, along the Darro River. This area, which became famous by the nineteenth century for its predominantly Gitano inhabitants, is characterized by cave houses, which are dug into the hillside. The area has a reputation as a major center of flamenco song and dance, including the Zambra Gitana, Andalusian dance originating in the Middle East. The zone is a protected cultural environment under the auspices of the Centro de Interpretación del Sacromonte, a cultural center dedicated to the preservation of Gitano cultural forms.

Albayzín

Albayzín (also written as Albaicín), located on a hill on the right bank of the river Darro, is the ancient Moorish quarter of the city and transports the visitor to a unique world: the site of the ancient city of Elvira, so-called before the Zirid Moors renamed it Granada. It housed the artists who went up to build the palaces of Alhambra on the hill facing it. Time allowed its embellishment. Of particular note is the Plaza de San Nicolas (Plaza of St Nicholas) from where a stunning view of the Alhambra can be seen. The artist George Owen Wynne Apperley RA RI (1884–1960) owned houses on both sides of the Placeta de San Nicolás, also known as El Mirador.

Zaidin

This blue collar neighbourhood houses 100,000 residents of Granada, making it the largest neighborhood or 'barrio'. Traditionally populated by gypsies, now many residents are from North and West Africa, China, and many South American countries. Every Saturday morning it hosts a large outdoor market or "mercadillo", where many gypsies come and sell their wares of fruits and vegetables, clothes and shoes, and other sorts of odds and ends.

Parks and garden of Granada

• The garden of Alhambra and Generalife
• The garden of Fuente Nueva
• The garden of Federico García Lorca
• The garden of Carmen de los Mártires
• The Botanical Garden of the University of Granada

Climate

Sport

Sierra Nevada Ski Resort near Granada

Granada has three football teams:

• Granada, in Segunda División A.
• Granada 74, in Tercera División.
• Granada Atlético, in Tercera División.

Granada has a basketball team:

• CB Granada, in Liga ACB

Skiing:

• FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996

Twin towns - sister cities

• Aix-en-Provence, France
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil
• Coral Gables, United States^[2]
• Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
• Marrakech, Morocco
• Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ^[3]
• Tetuán, Morocco
• Tlemcen, Algeria

Gallery

Panoramic view of Granada from the Alhambra	Granada Cathedral, south portal.	Torres Bermejas Castle.	Basilica-Hospital of San Juan de Dios.
San Gil y Santa Ana Church.	Capilla Real.	Palacio del Pórtico.	Church of San Jerome Monastery.
Buildings in Santa Ana Square and the tower bell of Santa Ana church.	Façade of the Palace of the Madrassa.	Patos' Palace Hotel.	Las Angustias Church.
The Royal Hospital of Granada.	Royal High Court.	San Luis Church.	Santos Justo y Pástor Church.
Gran Vía.	Gran Vía at sunset.	Bib-Rambla Square by night.	Living statue in Granada.

See also

• El Fandi
• Spanish Inquisition
• History of the Jews in Spain
• Al-Andalus

Notes and references

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).

Notations

• Cortés Peña, Antonio Luis and Bernard Vincent. Historia de Granada. 4 vols. Granada: Editorial Don Quijote, 1983.
• Historia del reino de Granada. 3 vols. Granada: Universidad de Granada, Legado Andalusí, 2000.

Footnotes

External links

• Ayuntamiento de Granada
• Website of the Granada Tourist Office
• Timelapse Granada HD
• Photos of Granada
• English language magazine for the region
• Granada at the Open Directory Project
• Webcam Granada/Alhambra
• Virtual tour around Granada

Municipalities in the province of Granada Agrón · Alamedilla · Albolote · Albondón · Albuñán · Albuñol · Albuñuelas · Aldeire · Alfacar · Algarinejo · Alhama de Granada · Alhendín · Alicún de Ortega · Almegíjar · Almuñécar · Alpujarra de la Sierra · Alquife · Arenas del Rey · Armilla · Atarfe · Baza · Beas de Granada · Beas de Guadix · Benalúa · Benalúa de las Villas · Benamaurel · Bérchules · Bubión · Busquístar · Cacín · Cádiar · Cájar · La Calahorra · Calicasas · Campotéjar · Cáñar · Caniles · Capileira · Carataunas · Cástaras · Castilléjar · Castril · Cenes de la Vega · Chauchina · Chimeneas · Churriana de la Vega · Cijuela · Cogollos de Guadix · Cogollos Vega · Colomera · Cortes de Baza · Cortes y Graena · Cuevas del Campo · Cúllar · Cúllar Vega · Darro · Dehesas de Guadix · Deifontes · Diezma · Dílar · Dólar · Dúdar · Dúrcal · Escúzar · Ferreira · Fonelas · Freila · Fuente Vaqueros · Las Gabias · Galera · Gobernador · Gójar · Gor · Gorafe · Granada · Guadahortuna · Guadix · Los Guájares · Gualchos · Güéjar Sierra · Güevéjar · Huélago · Huéneja · Huéscar · Huétor-Tájar · Huétor Vega · Huétor Santillán · Íllora · Ítrabo · Iznalloz · Jayena · Jérez del Marquesado · Jete · Jun · Juviles · Láchar · Lanjarón · Lanteira · Lecrín · Lentegí · Lobras · Loja · Lugros · Lújar · La Malahá · Maracena · Marchal · Moclín · Molvízar · Monachil · Montefrío · Montejícar · Montillana · Moraleda de Zafayona · Morelábor · Motril · Murtas · Nevada · Nigüelas · Nívar · Ogíjares · Orce · Órgiva · Otura · Otívar · El Padul · Pampaneira · Pedro Martínez · Peligros · La Peza · El Pinar · Píñar · Pinos Genil · Pinos Puente · Polícar · Polopos · Pórtugos · Puebla de Don Fadrique · Pulianas · Purullena · Quéntar · Rubite · Salar · Salobreña · Santa Cruz del Comercio · Santa Fe · Soportújar · Sorvilán · La Tahá · Torre-Cardela · Torvizcón · Trevélez · Turón · Ugíjar · El Valle · Valle del Zalabí · Válor · Vegas del Genil · Vélez de Benaudalla · Ventas de Huelma · Villamena · Villanueva Mesía · Villanueva de las Torres · Víznar · Zafarraya · Zagra · La Zubia · Zújar

World Heritage Sites in Spain For official site names, see each article or the List of World Heritage Sites in Spain. North West Caves of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain1 · Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias · Roman Walls of Lugo · Route of Santiago de Compostela1 · Santiago de Compostela · Tower of Hercules North East Caves of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain1 · Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon · Pyrénées - Mont Perdu2 · Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula1 · Route of Santiago de Compostela1 · San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries · Vizcaya Bridge Community of Madrid Aranjuez Cultural Landscape · El Escorial · University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares Centre Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida · Archaeological Site of Atapuerca · Ávila with its Extra-mural Churches · Burgos Cathedral · Cáceres · Cuenca · Las Médulas · Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula1 · Route of Santiago de Compostela1 · Salamanca · Santa María de Guadalupe · Segovia and its Aqueduct · Toledo East Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco (Tarragona) · Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí · Ibiza (Biodiversity and Culture) · Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona · Palmeral of Elche · Poblet Monastery · Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula1 · Silk Exchange in Valencia · Works of Antoni Gaudí South Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín · Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias, Seville · Córdoba · Doñana · Renaissance Monuments of Úbeda and Baeza · Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula1 Canary Islands Garajonay · San Cristóbal de La Laguna · Teide National Park 1 Shared with other region/s · 2 Shared with France