Torrejón de Ardoz

Torrejón de Ardoz
City

Aerial view of Torrejón de Ardoz

Flag
Seal

Location in Madrid, Spain
Torrejón de Ardoz

Location of Torrejón within Spain

Coordinates: 40°27′41″N 3°29′52″W / 40.46139°N 3.49778°WCoordinates: 40°27′41″N 3°29′52″W / 40.46139°N 3.49778°W
Country Spain Spain
Region Community of Madrid Community of Madrid
Comarca Madrid metropolitan area
Founded 11th century
Government
 • Alcalde Pedro Rollán Ojeda (PP)
Area
 • City 84.1 km2 (32.49 sq mi)
Elevation 568 m (1,864 ft)
Population (2013)
 • Urban 127.132
 • Demonym Torrejonero
Time zone EST (UTC+1)
Website Torrejon.es

Torrejón de Ardoz is a municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain.

It is located 20 km east of the city of Madrid, on the Autovía A-2 (Madrid-Barcelona highway). It is essentially a dormitory town, mostly consisting of apartments, a large mall and a park containing many famous European landmarks. It can be reached by bus from Avenida de América bus station in Madrid (approx. 25 minutes) or by commuter train from Madrid Atocha railway station (in roughly 30 minutes).

The European Union Satellite Centre, an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, the Spanish space agency.

There is also a military airbase in Torrejón de Ardoz. This base receives business jets, and its runway can be seen to the right when landing at Madrid's Barajas airport. For years, the United States Air Force occupied the base under agreements made with Francisco Franco, protecting NATO's southern flank. One of the election platforms of Felipe González's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was to close the base to the American fighter wing. González having been elected, the lease of the then 401st Tactical Fighter Wing (now the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing) was not renewed and the F-16 fighter wing left the base in the early 1990s.

History

The Spanish word for "tower" is torre, and "ón" is a common suffix added to emphasize unusual size or stature; therefore, one possible translation of torrejón would be "huge tower". While there is no certainty of the origin of Torrejón de Ardoz, it probably dates from the 12th century, associated to fortifications built to protect Alcalá de Henares.[1]

In 1843 it was the place of a short battle between general Ramón Narvaez and senator Antonio Seoane, as part of the rebellion against Espartero.[2]

During the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War, the fields between Torrejón and Paracuellos del Jarama were the site of the Paracuellos massacre, in which many Nationalist soldiers and alleged civilian supporters were killed by Republican militiamen.

Recently, it was the birthplace of former Toronto Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa, Real Madrid midfielder Guti, Oregon governor Kate Brown and professional wrestler Glenn Jacobs, better known by his ring name Kane.

Climate

Climate data for Torrejon de Ardoz
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 9
(48)		 11
(51)		 15
(59)		 17
(62)		 23
(73)		 27
(80)		 31
(87)		 31
(87)		 26
(78)		 19
(66)		 12
(53)		 9
(48)		 19.2
(66)
Average low °C (°F) 1
(33)		 1
(33)		 4
(39)		 5
(41)		 9
(48)		 13
(55)		 16
(60)		 15
(59)		 13
(55)		 8
(46)		 3
(37)		 1
(33)		 7.4
(44.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 38
(1.5)		 50
(2)		 30
(1.2)		 38
(1.5)		 36
(1.4)		 30
(1)		 10
(0.4)		 10
(0.4)		 33
(1.3)		 61
(2.4)		 71
(2.8)		 53
(2.1)		 460
(18)
Source: Weatherbase [3]

References

  1. ↑ Torrejón Townhall website (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Torrejón Townhall website (Spanish)
  3. ↑ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.

See also