Calatayud

Highways and railways

The town is located by the Carretera Nacional N-II highway, the Autovía A-2 and the N-234, among other local roads.

The AVE Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line, |access-date=2009-05-31 as well as the Renfe line from Madrid to Barcelona stop in Calatayud.

History

The city was founded on the site of a Celt-Iberian settlement{{Cite web |access-date=30 September 2010 The site of the ruins of Augusta Bilbilis are approximately four kilometers to the north of the modern city of Calatayud. |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119002220/http://www.caiaragon.com/en/municipios/index.asp?idloc=16&tipo=1 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=2009-05-31 The modern town was founded by the Moors around the Ayyub castle, circa 716 CE.

The name Calatayud came from the Arabic قلعة أيوب ar, "the qalat (fortress) of Ayyub". The ancient inhabitants of Bilbilis moved to the new site. Occupying a strategic placement between the central meseta of Spain and the Ebro valley, the city retained its importance in succeeding centuries. By the eleventh century a substantial Jewish community was present, surviving the reconquista until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Judaica texts from this era refer to Calatayud as , or (Qalʿah Ayuv, Qalʿ Ayuv, Qalʿiya Ayuv). |access-date=2009-01-28 The city was conquered from the Muslims by Alfonso I of Aragón in 1119. Many surviving examples of mudéjar church architecture show that the Moorish influence lived on. |access-date=2009-01-28

During the Peninsular Wars a notable siege of French-occupied Calatayud led to its capture by guerillas in 1811. The city was the capital of its own province in 1822–23, during the Trienio Liberal.

The town suffers from sinkholes.

Main sights

• One of the most notable Mudéjar towers of Aragón is the 15th-century bell tower of the collegiate church of Santa María, which was built on the site of a mosque. |access-date=2009-05-31 A Renaissance doorway was added in 1528.
• Santo Sepulcro, built in 1141, and restored in 1613, was long the principal church of the Spanish Knights Templar.
• This qalʿat is the biggest and oldest one on the Iberian peninsula.
• The church of "San Pedro" was founded by Ferdinand II of Aragón and it was there that the first cortes (parliament) of Aragon was held in 1411. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040525042720/http://www.caiaragon.com/en/actividades/index.asp?idAct=29&idSeccion=6&idTipo=77&idloc=639 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 25, 2004 |access-date=2009-05-31

Economy

The majority of employment is in the service sector and in agriculture. Agriculture consists primarily of apple and pear orchards, although there are also some vineyards in the area). Industry is much less developed, although there are two industrial estates (La Charluca and Mediavega) and the creation of a third is being studied.

Quarters and villages

• Quarters: Huérmeda, Torres and Embid de la Ribera
• Villages: Campiel, Carramolina, Marivella, Ribota, San Ramón and Terrer

Fiestas

• Easter
• Pilgrimage (romeria) in honour of el Cristo de Ribota, May 1
• Saint Íñigo's Day, June 1
• Saint Roch's Day, August 14–16
• Virgen de la Peña, September 8–12

Climate

Calatayud has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with cool to mild winters and hot summers. Precipitation is irregular throughout the year, with spring being the wettest season and winter the driest, although August is the driest month. These precipitation patterns are typical of the semi-arid regions of Aragon. Due to its higher altitude compared to the Ebro Valley, the average annual temperature is lower, with colder winters and more pleasant summers.

|Jan record high C = 20.6 |Feb record high C = 24.7 |Mar record high C = 29.0 |Apr record high C = 34.0 |May record high C = 37.5 |Jun record high C = 43.0 |Jul record high C = 41.5 |Aug record high C = 42.0 |Sep record high C = 37.7 |Oct record high C = 34.5 |Nov record high C = 24.6 |Dec record high C = 21.6 |year record high C = |Jan record low C = -15.4 |Feb record low C = -9.1 |Mar record low C = -9.8 |Apr record low C = -4.9 |May record low C = -1.7 |Jun record low C = 4.8 |Jul record low C = 7.0 |Aug record low C = 6.9 |Sep record low C = 1.4 |Oct record low C = -1.3 |Nov record low C = -8.2 |Dec record low C = -14.7 |year record low C =

Traditions

There is a popular Spanish song that says (translated) "If you go to Calatayud / ask for Dolores (a popular female name) / she is a very nice girl / fond of granting favours" that captures the (traditional) fame of girls in Calatayud. Given that reputation, traditionally boys went to the town in order to "ask for Dolores" to be "favoured" by local girls. Nowadays this tradition has dismissed although in festivities, boys from the surroundings, even from Zaragoza, visit the town with that aim.

Sister cities

Calatayud has four sister cities:

• Dueville, Veneto
• Gáldar, Gran Canaria
• Glen Ellyn, Illinois
• Auch, Gascony

References

References

1. {{in lang. es [http://www.ih.csic.es/paginas/jrug/leyes/18220127.doc División provisional del territorio español de 27 de Enero de 1822] {{webarchive. link. (2009-12-14 , the text of the proposed 1822 territorial division of Spain, Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC, [[Spanish National Research Council]]). Accessed online 2010-01-03.)
2. {{EB1911
3. "fruta de la fértil huerta bilbilitana".
4. "DO Calatayud - Information".
5. "Calatayud - DO".
6. "Valores Climatologicos normales". AEMET.
7. "AEMET OpenData". Aemet.es.
8. "Archived copy".