37°10N 3°35W, pop (2000e) 257 000. Capital of Granada province, Andalusia, S Spain; on R Genil, 434 km/270 mi S of Madrid; average altitude 720 m/2360 ft; founded by the Moors, 8th-c; capital of the Kingdom of Granada, 1238; last Moorish stronghold in Spain, captured in 1492; archbishopric; airport; railway; university (1531); textiles, paper, soap, tourism; cathedral (16th-c), with tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella; Generalife Palace and the Alhambra, a world heritage site; Conquest Day (Jan), Fiesta of Las Cruces de Mayo (May), international festival of music and dance (JunJul), international sports week (winter), Costa del Sol Rally (Dec).
For the viceroyalty in the New World, see New Kingdom of Granada.Coordinates: 37°11′N 3°36′W
Granada, Spain| Autonomous community | Andalusia (Andalucía) |
| Population | 236,982 (2005) |
| Area | 88 km² |
| Coordinates | 37°11′ N 3°36′ W |
| Elevation | 738 m AMSL |
| Settled since | 7th century BC |
| Website | www.andalusia.com |
Granada – Greek: Ἐλιβύργη (Steph. Arabic: غرناطة – is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous region of Andalusia, Spain. 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 the Spanish Kingdom.
The Alhambra, a famous Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most remarkable item of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian historical legacy that makes Granada a hot spot among cultural and tourist cities in Spain.
Granada is also well-known within Spain due to the prestigious University of Granada and, nowadays, wild night-life (though in the 1920s Federico García Lorca described the granadinos as "the worst bourgeoisie in Spain").
The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.
The beauty of the sights of Granada is famous. A well known verse says:
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« Dale limosna, mujer que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada » |
"Give him alms, woman because there is nothing like the pain of being blind in Granada" |
| — Francisco de Icaza | |
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History
Pre-Nasrid
The city has been inhabited from the dawn of history.
A Jewish community established itself in what was effectively a suburb of the city, called "Gárnata" or "Gárnata al-yahud" (Granada of the Jews). With the arrival of the Zirid dynasty in 1013, Granada became an independent sultanate. By the end of the eleventh century, the city had spread across the Darro to reach what is now the site of the Alhambra.
Kingdom of Granada under the Christian Kingdoms
In 1232 the progress of the Spanish Reconquista led to the subjugation of the last Islamic stronghold of Granada under Mohammed ibn Alhamar to the Christian forces of Ferdinand III of Castile. Thus the city of Granada became the seat of the Nasrid sultanate (until 1238) and kingdom (from 1238), one of the longest-lasting Islamic dynasties in the history of al-Andalus.
Initially the kingdom of Granada linked the commercial routes from Europe with those of the Maghreb. The territory constantly shrank, however, and by 1492, Granada controlled only a small territory on the Mediterranean coast. Muslim Granada was the sole remaining religiously homogenous area in the peninsula: those Christians who did not convert to Islam had been deported to North Africa or escaped to Christian countries.
On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim leader Boabdil surrendered complete control of the remnants of the last Moorish stronghold of Granada, to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Monarchs").
See Nasrid dynasty for a full list of the Nasrid rulers of Granada. The most prominent members of the dynasty were:
Mohammed ibn Alhamar (died 1273), the founder of the dynasty Yusuf I (1334–1354) Muhammed V (1354–1391), builder of the royal palace within the Alhambra Boabdil of Granada, the last of the line, who was defeated and deposed in 1492 by Ferdinand and IsabelAfter the fall of Granada
The fall of the Moors is one of the more significant events in Granada's history.
The fall of Granada holds an important place among the many significant events that mark the latter half of the 15th century.
Architecture
There are many important Moorish and Catholic architectural sites in Granada:
The Alhambra and Generalife The Palace of Charles V Granada's Cathedral Capilla Real. Calle Calderería: An Albayzin street where you can taste Arab typical food, especially teas and desserts from North Africa El Cármen de los Mártires: A lovely palace with a beautiful botanic garden near the Alhambra Santa Ana Church: 16th century, Mudejar Style San Salvador Church: 16th century, Mudejar Style. San José Church: On the site of the "moans" Almorabitín, the mosque of the morabites, one of oldest in Granada, dating from the 10th century. Sample of Granada's baroque. Nowadays it is a museum where visitors can follow the History of Granada from the Middle Age to our days.Although many Muslim buildings were destroyed by the Christian era in Granada those that are remaining make the most complete group of Moorish housing architecture in Europe.
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