Alcala Spain. Alcalá de Henares is a medieval student town. Excursion from Madrid to Cuenca

It so happened that after returning from Extremadura to Madrid we still had a day and a half at our disposal. May the Spaniards forgive me, but with all my love for this country, Madrid is absolutely “not my” city and it is very difficult for me to spend more than an hour here. Therefore, without a moment’s doubt, we decided to devote the remaining time to not too far trips. Our choice fell on the cities of Alcala de Henares and Toledo. With the latter, I think everything is clear - sooner or later everyone traveling around Spain comes to this ancient, original city. But the decision to go to Alcala was very unexpected and largely spontaneous for me. I would say that this happened not thanks to, but in spite of the “marketing” of this city that has developed both in Spain and throughout the world. Open any guidebook or book on the UNESCO World Heritage Site and you will read that Alcala is famous for its university building and you will definitely see its Plateresque façade in the picture.

The façade is certainly beautiful, no doubt about it, I always thought, but it’s absolutely not worth dragging yourself here for the sake of it, wasting at least half a day of precious “Spanish” time. Well, how can it compare with the aqueduct in Segovia, the fortress walls of Avila, the authenticity of Toledo and so on, so on, so on, which is more than enough even in the nearby “primadrida”. Perhaps I was right in some ways. But at the same time, how wrong I was! When, by some coincidence, the Alcala option appeared “on the horizon” of our travels, I, as I usually do in such cases, opened photosets on flickr.com and Google and... was simply stunned. To say that I liked Alcala is an understatement. She bewitched, enchanted, made me fall in love with her at first sight, or rather, from the first photo! And without doubts and regrets, we forced the previously planned Escorial out of our route.

Traveling from Madrid to Alcala is not easy, but very simple. And the easiest way to do this is to cercanias– commuter trains that depart on the “Guadalajara” line (some only to Alcala, and some go further) from both Madrid stations: from Atocha - in just 35 minutes, from Chamartin - 14 minutes longer. Moreover, during the day trains run every 4-9 minutes.

We must not forget that the number of stations cercanias in Madrid is constantly increasing (the latest example is the opening of a line to the T4 airport terminal), and to get on the train, you don’t have to go to the station. So we boarded the train at “our” station Sol, integrated with the metro stop of the same name. True, we had to change trains at Atocha, but in the end it was still simple and quick. And much cheaper than in Moscow: take, for example, the price for an almost similar Aeroexpress route - 8 euros. A round trip trip to Alcala for two cost us just over 11 euros. Those who are good at math will quickly feel the difference...

So we're going to Alcala. I won’t say that the landscapes outside the window can be called breathtaking, but does that really matter for a half-hour journey? To be honest, we didn’t even expect to arrive so quickly.

I will not tell the story of Alcala, I will not give any figures or historical facts. Anyone who wants to find out can easily cope with the task thanks to the Internet and other sources, especially since the city was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. I want to show Alcala as it will remain in my memory - a city of visual perception. It seems to me that if many cities are difficult to imagine without the context of the events that took place there and the people who lived there, today’s Alcala is valuable in itself for what it is: an ensemble city, a picture town, a fairy tale town. But at the same time, it is an absolutely Spanish city, imbued with the history and authenticity of this country.

If from the station you head into the city along the street with the very Spanish name paseo de la Estacion, then very soon you will see the first attraction of Alcala: Laredo Palace(Palacio de Laredo). This eclectic building is difficult to describe, it must be seen:

0 0

The palace was designed and built at the end of the 19th century by the artist, architect and designer Manuel José de Laredo, who served as mayor of Alcalá de Henares for two years. His idea was to combine elements of the most famous architectural styles in one building. Let the experts judge how well the result justified the idea, but despite my dislike for remodels, I really liked the palace. Perhaps because among other styles, 3 of my favorites clearly stand out: Gothic, Mudejar and Moorish. Of course, in this case everything is with the prefix “neo”.

0 0

No, just look at this bay window!

0 0

Inside the palace there is a small museum, the most interesting exhibits of which are the rooms and halls themselves, also decorated very differently:

0 0

Visiting the interiors of the palace is only possible with a guide (in Spanish). Tours run almost every hour at xx.30.

0 0

Here is that famous facade, which is considered the main calling card of Alcala all over the world:

0 0

By the way, its creator was the well-known Rodrigo Gil, the architect of the cathedrals in Segovia and Salamanca.

You can only go inside the university as part of a guided tour. We didn’t waste any time and limited ourselves to photographing the courtyard:

0 0

It is debatable whether the university is the most important brand of the city, but it is certainly not the only one. I would highlight at least two more: firstly, numerous pointed spiers, more characteristic of the architecture of some Switzerland:

0 0

And secondly - so beloved by us in many cities of Castile and Extremadura storks. I can’t say that there are clearly more of them here than in other places in Spain, but the fact that Alcala could, on equal terms with Avila, Caceres, Zamora and some other cities, challenge the title of “stork capital” of the Pyrenees is undoubtedly.

0 0

“How everyone has got us,” the brands thought, turning to us, you see what...

0 0

Let's forgive them for this... They don't know the cat Behemoth and don't know that noblesse oblige- the situation obliges...

“Storks and spiers are, of course, good. But what about Cervantes? - some intellectuals will exclaim in bewilderment. Of course, of course, friends, you’re just a little ahead of me. I just wanted to remind you (I got away with it quite well, didn’t I?) that it was here, in Alcala de Henares, that Don Quixote was born. More precisely, of course, not he himself, but his literary father Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Which, by the way, took with him to better worlds the place of the true birth of his knight, limiting himself to omission: “ In a certain village of La Mancha, whose name I have no desire to remember..." True, I will not say that the names of both are exploited here very mercilessly. Naturally there is house museum Cervantes (free visit), where Don Miguel had the honor of being born on September 29, 1547, in front of which (the house itself is visible in the background) are quite predictable characters:

0 0

Or this beer:

0 0

The sign says that here you can taste red vermouth from a barrel and beer made according to an old recipe. Oh my God! If I had read this not now, in the photograph, but then, on the spot, then I could tell you how Spanish cask vermouth differs from the famous Martini, Cinzano and other Salvatore... Moreover, I love vermouth so much. No, my carelessness will destroy me...

And, of course, the personalities of Cervantes’ heroes, who became more famous than himself, are played out on numerous magnets and other souvenirs.

And yet, Alcala adequately perpetuated the memory of its famous native, creating the greatest architectural masterpiece in his honor. I'm talking about Plaza Cervantes, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful squares in Spain, worthy to stand on a par with Madrid's Plaza Mayor, Seville's Plaza de España or Plaza Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela. This is one of those places in Alcala that struck me at first sight from the photographs, and the reality turned out to be even more beautiful. I understand that my photos are far from the best illustrations, but maybe they will be able to convey at least a little of the true splendor of this square.

0 0

Here are the views from the other side:

0 0

Among other buildings located on Cervantes Square (more precisely, along its edges), we can highlight:

Unchangeable ayuntamiento:

0 0

St. Mary's Tower ( Torre de Santa Maria), formerly the bell tower of the church of the same name, now destroyed:

0 0

Theoretically, you can climb the tower, and the views of the city in general and Piazza Cervantes in particular from there, I have no doubt, are very beautiful. However, at the entrance to it, no signs of life were noticed, although the time corresponded to the hours of its operation stated on the website of Alcala itself... I sincerely wish that someone would be luckier than us and be able to admire the city from a height, as they say, from a bird's eye view flight.

Don Quixote not only became a symbol of Spain, he was called both the embodiment of the Spanish soul and the new Spanish Christ... Although many (perhaps even the majority) perceive him as a kind of weak-willed, lanky old man (and in the novel Don Quixote is about 50 years old - the age for the Middle Ages deeply retired), slightly (or not even slightly) out of his mind. Who, like the elusive Joe (remember - why elusive? - and who needs him?) wanders on a four-legged nag with the proud name Rocinante (which means the same nag) along the roads of Spain and is looking for adventures to his fifth (and other others) point , constantly getting involved in completely idiotic situations in which he always remains a fool. To be honest, I thought the same thing for a long time (especially after “reading” the novel as part of my school’s after-school reading program). But lately my opinion about Don Quixote has changed a lot. Now I consider the hero Cervantes one of the most courageous people in all of world history, a true man, muy hombre, a Man with a capital M. For me, he is a more courageous person than Alexander Nevsky, Neil Armstrong or the heroes of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Because (everything further reflects my personal point of view and my personal value system) true masculinity is not manifested in battle, not in work, true masculinity is when a woman becomes the most important thing in life for a man, when all his deeds, aspirations, victories happen for the sake of women and in the name of a woman - a wife, a lover, a Beautiful Lady - in this case it is not so important. Yes, war heroes, cosmonauts, and outstanding athletes deserve full respect and honor. But valor in the name of patriotism, in the name of science, in the name of peace cannot be compared with valor in the name of one woman. It doesn’t matter what and how Don Quixote does, it is important that he is driven by the desire to devote all of himself and all his actions to a woman, without this he has no life, without this any victories are not dear to him - this is where his masculine nature is manifested, and this is what we very similar to him. And therefore I bow to the clumsy La Mancha hidalgo much more than to Suvorov and Bagration, leading their troops into battle towards victory.

After such a digression, which may have allowed someone to switch to more interesting activities than reading my opus, I will continue my memories of our walk through Alcala de Henares. From Piazza Cervantes to the city cathedral there is a street called Main ( Calle Mayor). This is one of the oldest streets, built back in the 12th century on the territory of the former Jewish quarter. Along its entire length there are arcade, originally wooden, in the 16th century they were replaced with stone ones, some of which have survived, despite the reconstruction of the 19th century, to this day. Somehow I came across information, the accuracy of which I cannot vouch for, that the local Calle Mayor is the longest arcade street in Spain. Since 1986 it has been pedestrianized.

0 0

As I said, Calle Mayor leads to the main church (or cathedral) Alcales - Iglesia Magistral or Catedral Magistral de los Santos Niños Justo y Pastor. More precisely, it, like other streets, does not go here, but from here: in the early Middle Ages, it was the cathedral that was the center of the city, and from it all the main city streets diverged in different directions.

0 0

As the name suggests, the cathedral was consecrated in honor of the martyrs Justo and Pastora, or Holy children, whose names are very revered in Spain. It is believed that the cathedral was built exactly on the spot where they were executed for their Christian beliefs (this was precisely during the time of religious persecution by Emperor Diocletian). The very fact of execution is, of course, regrettable, but for mercy’s sake, friends, what kind of serious and, especially, conscious beliefs can we talk about at the age of 7 and 9? Of course, if you baptize a child from the cradle, and then introduce him to rituals from infancy, then he will begin to share the faith of his parents, and consider everyone else to be infidels (and at one point he will take a sword or a machine gun and begin to exterminate them). But what is the price of such faith from a spiritual point of view? Completely borrowed, not personally suffered? It is clear that if they were born into a Muslim, Judaic or pagan family, their views would be completely different. So, I repeat, the murder of children is never acceptable under any circumstances, but to put this on a religious, and even more so, spiritual basis - excuse me...

As was our custom, which had already become an involuntary tradition, we found ourselves in the cathedral during the wedding. Fortunately, Spanish churches do not close to outsiders in such situations (as is customary among the Italians, at least among the Sicilians), otherwise with such “luck” we would have been greeted by locked doors everywhere.

0 0

January 2007

Storks sit on the roof
And they stretch their necks.
They are taller than everyone else
And they know better.
/Nikolai Gumilyov/

Why go

A pleasant small suburb of Madrid, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A university was founded here in the 15th century, Spanish grammar was invented here, and Cervantes was born here. On every more or less elevated tower of the city, no matter whether it is a church bell tower or a chimney of a house, storks live - an impressive and peaceful sight. The city is recommended for leisurely walks. It took us about 3.5 hours to take the city including the road (without visiting museums and monasteries, except for the house of Cervantes).

How to get there

1. By train from Atocha station. Suburban trains from platforms C1, C2, C7 according to the schedule. Travel time is about 40 minutes. Tickets - 4.70 euros for 1 round trip - can be bought from vending machines or at the box office (these are further away than regular ones, red sign, white icon). Exit from the platform through turnstiles with green lights.

2. By bus. No. 22, 225, 227 from the Avenida de America stop.

To the Old Town from the train station. To the left of the exit is a monument to those killed during the terrorist attack on the railway in 2004. Then straight, straight, straight, preferably on the right side of the street, about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace, taking pictures of houses. When you see a stand at an intersection with the number 1 and a description of what’s around, you’ve arrived. Turn right and behind the church you turn into the courtyards - in front of you is the famous College of San Ildefonso.

The city’s website presents 2 addresses of city travel agencies: on Plaza de los Santos Ninos and on Callejon de Santa Maria, however, we saw only a lonely kiosk on Cervantes Square, which, moreover, was closed (though it was in the evening ) and a closed door on College Street (Calle de los Colegios). The way out can be information stands scattered around the city here and there; I’ll try to describe what I saw. You can also download a city map from the internet.

Story

The first people settled here back in Neolithic times, then Celtic tribes lived in this area for some time, and in the 1st century. BC. The Romans founded the city of Complutum here, from which comes the affectionate diminutive name of Alcala - Complutence. Emperor Augustus in his notes mentions the city of Miakum, on the road between Segovia and Titulcia, it is believed that Complutum is meant. Under the Romans, 10 thousand people already lived here, which is quite a lot for a city by modern European standards. (In the vicinity of the city there is the so-called Casa Hippolytus, a Roman villa built in the 2nd century with a unique mosaic “fish” floor created by the master Hippolytus and even baths. There is a version that there was a school for young patricians here. How to get here yourself - I don’t know, but the city’s website states that a tourist bus runs here from the travel agency. If you don’t want to go, but still want to look at the remains of Roman times, you can visit the Archaeological Museum, which is opposite the Archbishop’s Palace).

The local drama also brought undoubted benefit to the city: by order of Emperor Diocletian in 306, two Christian boys, Justo and Pastor, were executed here, after which pilgrims flocked to the city, and when a century later the Archbishop of Toledo canonized the martyrs, the people's path to the town was not overgrown and under the Visigoths, who captured these lands after the Romans. Since 711, the area came under the rule of the Arabs, who immediately erected a fortress on a high hill slightly away from the Roman settlement to fight off the infidels and control the area. They called it “al-qalat” - which translated means “castle, fortress”, but since there are a good dozen towns containing the word “alcala” in their names in Spain, “de Henares” (the name of the local river) is added to the name.

On May 3, 1118, the city was recaptured by the troops of the Archbishop of Toledo, and the new inhabitants chose to settle on the Roman site, leaving the castle to decay. The city developed mainly due to a lively market and an advantageous position: along this road the kings of Castile (I remind you that there was no united Spain yet) traveled south. On May 20, 1293, the king of Castile, Sancho IV, signed a decree on the opening of Estudios Generales in the city, transferred to the authority of the archbishop and receiving the blessing of the Pope himself. These General Studies served as the foundation of the future university, founded in 1496 (according to some sources - in 1499) by Cardinal Cisneros.
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Jimenez_de_Cisneros
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Cardinal_Jimenez_de_Cisneros

By the way, it was in Alcala de Henares that the first meeting of the then unknown navigator Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand took place.

The presence of a famous university in a town leaves an indelible imprint on the city itself, its architecture, buildings, and its way of life. Somehow you immediately understand: students live here. Lots of students. These are Leuven in Belgium, Oxford and Cambridge in England, Bologna and Perugia in Italy, Heidelberg in Germany, Friborg and Neuchâtel in Switzerland, Lund in Sweden, Harvard in the USA (despite the fact that it is much newer than all of the above) looking ahead - Salamanca in the same Spain... Such is Alcala de Henares. Such cities are especially pleasant to explore. For those interested - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:University_towns

At that time, scientists put the unique book collections of the University of Alcala on a par with the libraries of the Vatican, Venice, Florence and Paris. Students of the University of Alcala have gone down in Spanish history and are known throughout the world. Listen to these names: Lope de Vega, Antonio de Nebrija, Francisco Quevedo, Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, Ignatius of Loyola... Local natives are also well-known: Miguel de Cervantes and Catherine of Aragon (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Catherine_of_Aragon).

However, in the XVIII-XIX centuries. the city fell into decay, the university was moved to the capital in 1836, the monasteries around sold off their land, and the town turned into a residential suburb of Madrid. It was near Alcalá that the train bombings took place on March 11, 2004, and at the station you will be greeted by a memorial in memory of this event...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_March_2004_Madrid_train_bombings

As I already wrote, we walked straight along the street leading from the station to the Old Town for about 10 minutes, admiring the modern buildings, in which the Mudejar style was barely, but still, discernible. Particularly striking and impressive is the so-called Laredo Palace (1884), built by Miguel Laredo y Ordono, a painter, restorer, decorator and part-time mayor of the city? The palace is stylized as the Alhambra - with patterned brickwork, multi-colored tiles, roof battlements, arches, balconies, winged dragons and other decorative elements, and especially the minaret in which the clock is hidden. If you suddenly get inside, the main hall that is worth seeing is the Room of the Kings, in the construction of which building materials from the ruins of the Santorcaz castle, the prison of Cardinal Cisneros, were used. The walls of the hall are decorated with images of the kings of Castile, from Alfonso XI to Carlos I, and the vault of heaven is painted on the ceiling - as it was imagined in the Middle Ages.

Martyrs' Gate (Puerta de Martires) and around

A few more minutes along the same street - and at one of the intersections we saw an information stand with the number “1” and joyfully and doomedly realized that we couldn’t get out of here so easily: we had a quest ahead of us around the city, like a couple of months ago in the Czech Hradec Kralove . Well, a quest is a quest. Did you run? We go to the right.

Like any self-respecting medieval city, Alcada de Henares was surrounded by an impressive stone wall with watchtowers and the only way to enter the city was through the gates, of which there were six already in the thirteenth century, but to date only one has survived - Puerta Madrid in the south. west. The “martyr’s” gate got its name from Saints San Justo and San Pastor, patrons of the city (see History). Through these gates, according to tradition, the bishops of Toledo and the lords of Alcala entered the city. Like the rest of the gates, Puerta de Martires was demolished in the 19th century to make way for the ubiquitous motor transport in the 1950s. a fountain was built here. From the square to the city center there is a street called Booksellers (calle de Libreros), which turns into the central calle Mayor. The street got its name thanks to the numerous bookstores and printing houses that worked for the benefit of students, one of which saw the release of the first edition of Cervantes’s first book, “La Galatea.”

The following colleges are located nearby:

1. Saint Catalina, or Green - established by Catalina de Mendoza y Cisneros in 1586 (the Mendoza family will be discussed in the description of Guadalajara), and he received his nickname thanks to the bright green uniform of his pupils. Inside, a 17th-century chapel with a Baroque dome has been preserved.

2. Jesuit college, founded in 1546 by Francisco de Villanueva under the patronage of the Infanta Juana of Austria (founder of the monastery de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Spain

The facade was designed by the architect Melchor de Bueras in the 17th century, the main staircase inside was designed by Ventura Rodriguez in the 18th century. Since 1992, the Higher School of Law has been located here.

3. College of Saint Mary, now the Church of Saint Mary, also founded by Catalina de Mendoza y Cisneros in 1602. The facade is decorated with four sculptures by the Portuguese master Pereira (1624), inside there are paintings of the dome and altar by brother Francisco Bautista. . Here is also the Chapel of the Holy Host, the vaults of which were painted by Jose Vicente Ribera in 1699.

4. The Royal College, founded by Philip II in 1550, and built by Juan de la Mora, creator of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, now houses the Cervantes Institute, and with it the Cervantes Theater (1868) on the lands of the former Capuchiner monastery, one of few buildings in the modernist style in the city.

Along calle de Libreros we return to the crossroads and go right this time, behind a small church we turn left into the courtyards where we see

University and College of San Ildefonso, Plaza San Diego

By the end of the 15th century, universities already existed in Italy (let me remind you that the oldest educational institution in the world was opened in Bologna), and in France, and in Germany. When the opinion of the secular and spiritual authorities that education was good coincided, in 1459 the Pope gave permission to open schools in Alcalá where grammar would be taught “on certain days, at appointed or appointed times.” It was too early to call it a university or even a college: no one even mentioned the departments of theology and law, and grammar was taught only occasionally at the Franciscan monastery of San Diego. It was on San Diego Square (plaza de San Diego) that the first college was opened, from which the oldest university in Spain traces its history, founded in 1496 (according to some sources - in 1499) by Cardinal Cisneros (Ximenez de Cisneros).

Around the College of San Ildefonso, which in 1553 acquired an impressive plateresque facade by Rodrigo Gil de Hontanon, auxiliary colleges grew up; by the 17th century there were already about 40 of them, and in the Middle Ages the university was considered one of the famous European centers of learning, namely here in 1517 the first Bible was published in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Chaldean. The church, state and intellectual elite of the country were forged here (I repeat: Lope de Vega, Antonio de Nebrija, Francisco Quevedo, Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, Ignatius of Loyola, and others, others, others, the glory and pride of Spain). In 1836 the university was moved to Madrid, but in 1977 part of the university returned to Alcala and the university rectorate was again located in San Ildefonso. Every year, the king presents the Cervantes National Prize for Literature in the Main Auditorium of the university, decorated in the Mudejar style.

The square in front of the college is flooded with sun, there are no people around (it’s Sunday evening after all), only some girl with a stroller is reading a book. There are pleasant two-story houses all around, with neat shutters, cute balconies, trees in tubs under every window, a piece of pavement, church towers can be seen above the roofs, and above all this is a piercing blue sky - it seems to me that this is exactly what Madrid looked like during the times of Cervantes and Lope de Vega ...

There are two monuments to the founder of the university, Cardinal and Grand Inquisitor Cisneros, in the square: one standing on the left, on the side from which we (and, probably, you) came, near the university chapel of San Ildefonso, in a cardinal’s attire. It is in the chapel, modest on the outside and luxuriously decorated on the inside in the Mudejar style, under the tombstone of Carrara marble, made in the Plateresque style by the Venerable Bartolome Ordonez, that the ashes of Cardinal Cisneros rest. The second monument by the Italian Fancelli has stood since the 19th century near the College of San Ildefonso, on the left; it is more “alive”, “human”. The square is named after the Franciscan monk Diego, canonized by Pope Sixtus V at the end of the 16th century, who lived and died in the old monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary, located nearby.

From here there are two options for further walking: you can go to the right of San Ildefonso, and get to Piazza Cervantes, in the very center of the city, or you can go around San Ildefonso on the left and walk from the beginning to the end of College Street, in order to also come along it to the square Cervantes.

College Street (Calle de los Colegios)

The ancient name of the street - Roman - is due to the fact that two important Roman roads crossed here - Emerita Augusta and Caesar Augusta. As is clear from the modern name, the bulk of the city’s colleges are located on it. Somewhere in the center we were promised a travel agency, but we knocked on a long-closed door and had to navigate according to the diagrams that we came across in abundance in strategic places. After Piazza Cervantes, the street becomes calle Ursula, and after St. Patrick's College and the Augustinian monastery it turns into Calle de Escritorios, so that behind the cathedral it becomes calle de Cardenal Cicneros and leads us to Puerta de Madrid.

Of the 40 colleges that once existed at the University of Alcalá, barely half have survived, but the rest is enough to get an idea of how attractive this campus was. No less often than in colleges, you come across monasteries in the city - students were kept under constant supervision, and initially they taught mainly grammar and the law of God, and the teachers (read - monks) needed to live somewhere. This is how the street of colleges stands: college-monastery-college... The building of the Orphanage (Ermita de los Doctrinos), with a statue of Christ (XVI century); Malaga College, built by Juan Gomez de la Mora on the instructions of the Bishop of Malaga, Juan Alonso de Moscoso; the school of theology founded by Cardinal Cisneros, where the first edition of Don Quixote was published in December 1604, and many others... Alcala is a city of literature, on old buildings you constantly come across red and white plaques with sayings of famous writers.

When a square stretches out to your right, covered with a carpet of flowers even in winter, and right in front of you is a high tower where several storks have built their nests, know that in front of you is -

Plaza de Cervantes

The first impression of the square is something surreal: a Christmas tree in New Year’s decorations, bright flower beds with summer-smelling petunias, green grass, quite vigorous leaves on the bushes and a bright, bright sky. Who will think it's January? What brings you back to reality, however, is the skating rink flooded in front of the Christmas tree, and the kids dressed in colorful overalls and skating around. Then you come to your senses and start looking around cheerfully. Well, well, yeah, stand. Since the early Middle Ages, there has been a market square here, where all sorts of joyful events for the townspeople were held. For example, a bullfight or auto-da-fé (for which places were occupied several weeks in advance and those who distributed these places paid a large bribe). When a wave of popular love for Cervantes (who, let me remind you, died, in complete poverty and oblivion) suddenly surged among the Spaniards, all the cities and towns of Spain proclaimed the slogan “Cervantes is our everything!” and they raced to name central squares and streets after the writer. The hometown, of course, did not stand aside, and since the middle of the 19th century the central square of Alcala has been named after Cervantes, and in the center of the square in 1879 a very lyrical monument by the Italian Pedro Nicoli was erected.

Directly in front of you and slightly to the right, covered with nests of storks (who even have special supports for their nests here, how could it be otherwise – a symbol of the city), stand a high bell tower and picturesque ruins. Until 1936, there was a 17th-century church here - Santa Maria la Mayor, where Miguel Cervantes was baptized on October 9, 1547 (the font is still kept in the baroque chapel Cristo de la Luz, which survived the Civil War). Hidden among the ruins is a monument to Cervantes' biographer, Luis Astrana Marin.

On the left across the square stands the unmistakable Town Hall with its clock tower. Previously, oddly enough, this was also a college, which in 1870 was converted into administration. Inside there are collections of paintings and other cultural treasures that we did not see, and I can’t even imagine how this could be done. On the same side of the square, but closer to calle Mayor, is the Comedy Theater (1602). In the center of the square there is a bandstand, a kind of mega-gazebo, made at the Lebrero foundry in Madrid in 1898 according to the sketches of Martin Pastells, on the right side of the square is another work by the same architect (1893), the so-called. circle of patrons (Circulo de Contribuyentes), made of red brick. The inside of the building is painted by local native Felix Yuste.

From the edge of the square, opposite from where we came, the main street of the city runs -

Calle Mayor

The street has been known since the 13th century; even then it was busy and commercial, belonging to the Jewish quarter. The vibrancy and abundance of shops has remained to this day. The street seems to be a single whole: identical two-story houses (on the ground floor there are shops, on the second – the owners’ homes) with identical balconies and identical arcades on the first floor - buyers could make purchases without getting their heads wet, already from the 15th-16th centuries. These arcades are not as majestic as those in Bologna, and not as gingerbread as in the Czech Telč or Třebony, but they are no less picturesque. The second floors of buildings in the Middle Ages were connected by a single corridor, so that residents could not go outside at all, you never know - what if they pour a pot on your head and shout “beware”? Or the Holy Inquisition wanders the streets on night watch... A generally sound idea was suppressed by this very Inquisition since 1492, when Jews began to be expelled everywhere from Spain.

At number 1 on the street is the Calzonera house, named after its owner, who lived in the 16th century. They say that Cervantes lived here for several months in 1551 with his uncle; his family sold the house located a little further down the street, moving to Valladolid. Manuel Azana, writer, politician and president of the Second Spanish Republic, was born in house No. 5 (or rather, the house in question stood on the site of this house). On the right side a little further stands the former aristocratic home of the Antezana family, which in 1483 became a hospital for the city's poor and pilgrims, the oldest private medical institution in Europe, operating for more than 500 years, where Ignatius of Loyola himself worked as a nurse and kitchen assistant. The building is recognizable by its entrance, decorated in the Mudejar style and the sculpture of Our Lady. Among the interesting things you can also see is the palace of the Marquis of Lanzarote, which became a Carmelite monastery in 1563. The façade, patio and grand staircase are all the work of Alonso de Covarrubias. The abbess of the monastery at one time was Cervantes' sister, Leonor.

But the main tourist attraction of the street, of course

House of Cervantes (Casa Museo de Servantes)

“In order to once again emphasize how forgetful and ungrateful we Spaniards are, I will mention that ... when the unfortunate Don Miguel de Cervantes, citing his military merits, the injury received at Lepanto, and five years of Algerian captivity, asked only for permission move to India, he did not receive it at all, even in the sixteenth year of the new century, in other words, exactly ten years ago, he died in poverty, abandoned by everyone, and his death was not publicly announced, and the coffin was carried along these very streets to the church Trinitarians without proper honors and a funeral cortege, and his very name, quickly erased from the memory of his contemporaries, remained in oblivion until foreign countries appreciated and began to republish Don Quixote - only then did it shine in its glory. "Is it possible, I ask, that the end is destined, as usual in our vile fatherland, for its most glorious sons? A few exceptions confirm the rule."
/Arturo Perez-Reverte, “The Cavalier in the Yellow Jacket”/

It is impossible to miss the fifteenth-century house at Calle Mayor, 48, where Cervantes was born and spent his childhood: right in the middle of the street there is a large bench on which sit the bronze Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, talking about something. The composition is popular among tourists: people line up to take photos between them, they barely disperse to take a photo. The house is not located in a single row of houses, but slightly in the courtyard, and is even surrounded by green bushes, which gives it some coziness.

Opening hours, virtual tour and other information - www.museo-casa-natal-cervantes.org/english/default.asp

In January, the museum was open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., admission is free (tickets are still issued), but filming is strictly forbidden—this is strictly monitored. We enter the courtyard, in the center there is an ancient well, the depth makes you dizzy, although the water is quite close to the surface. The rooms on the second floor (yes, this is how simple, modest Spanish surgeons lived) open onto a balcony that goes around the perimeter of the courtyard. I’m not sure that all the things actually belong to Cervantes, but the furnishings have been painstakingly restored: napkins, curtains, furniture, dishes, even chamber pots and bed linen of that time (everything is authentic, in my opinion, as a person who has visited a lot of museums in his life, including including household ones). I remember the dark hall, where the figures of the novel’s heroes sit in the illuminated display cases, and from somewhere a sepulchral voice reads out the chapters... I liked the hall where there are books published in different languages, incl. Russian and Japanese edition. In general, I recommend the museum, it won’t take much time, but the house is extremely nice.
www.donquixote.ru/persons/cervantes.html

Along Mayor Street we reach

Square of the Holy Children (Plaza de los Santos Ninos)

The square is named after the holy Christian children Justo and Pastor, who were brutally tortured in these places in 306 by order of Emperor Diocletian. The monument (1986), all filled with some kind of stalls, was erected to commemorate the first meeting of Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings – Isabella and Ferdinand. The main building of the square, of course -

Cathedral of the Holy Children (Cathedral de los Santos Ninos)

After the execution of the holy children in 306, a chapel was erected over their tomb, in 1122, 1477 and 1519. The chapel was rebuilt, for the last time - on the direct orders of Cardinal Cisneros. Brothers Anton and Martin Egas created the Gothic look that we see today. The tower, on which today storks have built at least 10 nests, was completed later - in 1582 by the master Nicolas de Vergara according to the drawings of Rodrigo Gil de Hontanon, who began its construction. Already in 1519, the church received the title of perfect; only the Church of St. Pedro in Belgium has received such an honor in the Christian world. Katherine of Aragon, the future Queen of England, Fernando of Bohemia, the future Emperor of Germany, and Manuel Azana, the future President of the Second Spanish Republic, were baptized here. In 1991, the church became a cathedral.

The cathedral was badly damaged during the Civil War and currently the restoration is not completed. But there is something to see: the crypt, where the relics of Justo and Pastor are kept under 17th-century slabs in a silver casket by Damian Zurero; the incorruptible relics of Saint Diego de Alcala and the crypt where Archbishop Garcia de Loaysa is buried - the only one awarded this honor. There is also a museum here that houses the communion cup of Cardinal Cisneros, the remains of the staircase of the archbishop's palace by Covarrubias, almost completely destroyed in a fire, as well as various objects of art that belonged to the cathedral.

Since we are talking about storks, there are visible and invisible white storks around the cathedral in all conceivable and inconceivable places. Do they click their beaks so loudly that there is an eerie crashing sound around the cathedral? What can you do - it’s a symbol of the city, and the townspeople endure it without complaint. Opposite the cathedral, by the way, there is a Polish Jesuit church - it looks like it is still active.

From the cathedral we walk along Calle Victoria, a small street where a significant number of colleges are located. Actually, I remember a street, but not a square, and there is no square in the photo, but this place is indicated on the city website

Victoria Square (Plaza de la Victoria)

oh well, let there be a square. It was in this quarter that those same General Studies were created, so to speak, the embryo of the university. On the right hand side as you go will be first the Casa de los Lizana, a Renaissance house originally owned by the Mendoza family, then became the Justo and Rufina College for students from Seville, and finally became the property of the Lizana family. Next comes the Los Minimos de Saint Francisco College, with its bright red façade, notable for both its ancient history (founded under Philip II) and the touching stork's nest on its pediment. The first municipality of Alcala was located in the building of Santa Lucia: in 1515 the city council began to meet here. In the house of Diego de Torres lived this same Diego, who, according to urban legend, came up with the city name in 1687. The street-square leads us to the city walls and gates of Madrid. There is also a large sign here, symbolizing that the city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site (like on the Kazan Kremlin, if anyone remembers).

City walls

Brick walls appeared around the medieval city back in the 13th century, on the initiative of Archbishop Rodrigo Ximenez de Rada (1209-1247), who also began the construction of the archbishop's house on the site where the archbishop's palace now stands, which we will see a little later. There were once six gates, but to date only one has survived - Puerta Madrid in the southwest, in place of the rest - a fountain and small squares. Several gates were demolished already in the 19th century for an extremely prosaic reason - they interfered with transport. Eh, but they could have done it like in Vladimir - so that all the gates would go around, and there would be some nice lighting around it... The wall, which also grew as the city grew, unfortunately, has been preserved in fragments: around the archbishop's palace and near the gate of Madrid, to which from the cathedral Victoria Street took us out. But there are three towers on that surviving piece of the wall, and two even bear the coat of arms of Pedro Tenorio, one of the glorious archbishops of Alcala.

The gates of Madrid, by the way, are not at all the ones that once greeted pilgrims and those wishing to hunger for learning - the old ones were demolished in the 17th century, and in their place these ones were built (1788) in the neoclassical style - according to the project of Antonio Juana Jordan with the money of the cardinal Lorenzana, to whom, I suspect, the laurels of Cardinal Cisneros were haunted? (the names of the architect, the cardinal and the then king are immortalized on plaques on the gate).

From here, along the wall and along the street Cardenal Sandoval y Rojas (note the coats of arms of Archbishop Tenorio on a couple of towers on this street) we reach a monumental structure, this

Archbishop's Palace (Palacio Arzobispal)

After the city was recaptured from the Moors in 1118, it came under, as they would now say scientifically, the jurisdiction of the archbishops of Toledo, who became the sponsors and customers of almost all construction projects in the city. The most impressive of them, of course, is the residence of powerful prelates. These walls remember the noble names of many church figures, there is no need to list them - they won’t say anything to our ears, I’ll just say that they left their mark on Spanish history...

The palace was originally built in the XIV-XV centuries. as a citadel (a piece has been preserved from those distant times - the Tenorio Tower on the eastern side), two centuries later it was rebuilt into a magnificent residence under the sensitive leadership of Alonso de Covarrubias, but the central tower still reminds of the fortress's donjon... In the 19th century, the palace was restored in neo-Mudéjar and neo-Gothic style, the result is a very impressive mixture? It was in these elaborate, Arabic-style walls that Katherine of Aragon, the future Queen of England, and Fernando of Bohemia, the future Emperor of Germany, were born. It was here that the first meeting of Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand took place, and six years later an unknown navigator discovered a new continent... Unfortunately, they are not allowed inside yet - in 1939 the palace was badly damaged by a fire, and is still not completely restored And what we see from the side of the square in front of the Bernardine monastery is almost the only piece of the facade that escaped the fire. But the tower overlooking the square is real, authentic - just take a look at the masonry. This is confirmed by the coat of arms of Archbishop Tenorio. There is a small protrusion attached to the side - a closed balcony - I wonder what it's for? All the towers, even those destroyed by fire, are covered...that's right, with stork nests. At the foot of the wall separating the city from the palace, the lyrical monument to Queen Isabella (1994) attracts attention.

The Palace of the Archbishops, the Cistercian monastery of St. Bernard, standing to the right of it, and even further to the right, the former Dominican convent, form three sides of a small but very cozy square, shaded by abundant and, apparently, uncontrollably growing trees. The square is somewhat strange: on the one hand there is a historical place, the city center, a place where tourists are brought, but opposite the palace there are two-story houses, many of which are in a terrible state: windows are broken (a fat cat just crawled out through one of them), the doors are clogged ... as if the fire of 1939 affected them too, and money for repairs has not yet been found. The next day we will see something similar in Segovia - if we move 100 meters from the aqueduct in the direction opposite to the travel agency, we will see real ruins of residential buildings in front of us...doesn’t anyone really care?

The former Dominican convent, founded by the Mendoza family in the 15th century, is now an archaeological museum displaying what remains of the ancient Roman settlement of Complutum. Located in the center of the square

Cistercian Monastery of St. Bernard (Monasterio y Museo de San Bernardo)

The monastery was founded by Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas in 1617, the construction was entrusted to Juan Gomez de la Mora, the author of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, and the result was an unusually beautiful baroque church with paintings by the Italian Angelo Nardi. Inside the church there is a museum (books, robes, utensils, papal bulls, paintings, furniture and even a medieval kitchen, the hearse was impressive), entrance is only with a guide, and what is surprising is that there is no guide in English.

Opposite the monastery, across a shady square, stands quietly

Oratorio of San Felipe Neri

If you remember, in the story about Belgium I wrote about the communities of beguines, which were joined by aunts whose husbands went to the Crusades. They did not take monastic vows, could leave the community or remarry at any time, and were mainly engaged in charity work. Beguinages served as a prototype for many organizations and congregations engaged in socially useful activities (teaching children, caring for the sick, publishing literature), but the members of the organization did not take “real” monastic vows. In 1558, a congregation was founded in Rome under the leadership of Philip Neri. “In the chapel at the hospital he established, clergy who did not take monastic vows began to gather for joint reading and interpretation of sacred books. The Oratorians became famous for their merits in the field of philosophy and science.”
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oratorians
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation

In 1694, the Oratorians settled on Spanish soil - in Alcala de Henares. Here the oratory was founded by Bishop Martin de Bonilla. This is the only men's congregation that did not suffer as a result of the seizure and sale of church lands and did not cease to function all this time. Inside the baroque church with an unexpectedly austere façade, you can see masterpieces of painting and sculpture by Spanish masters: Alonso Cano, Gregorio Fernandez, Palomino, Pereda and Maella - too bad it was already closed ...

nat_ka
14/09/2007 11:53

The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.

The name of this city translates as “Citadel on the Henares River”, and its historical center is included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites. The city is interesting for its rich archaeological heritage. He also became one of the first in Spain to establish a bishopric.

The center of today's Alcalá de Henares remains predominantly medieval, full of cobbled streets and historic buildings. The very center is Piazza Cervantes, named after the famous city native. Nearby there are three colorful quarters: Moorish, Jewish and Christian. This secures Alcala's reputation as a city of three cultures.

Generally speaking, today you can easily add a fourth, a fifth, and so on to these three. Alcalá is home to the country's oldest university, which today is considered one of the main centers for studying Spanish for foreign students.

The influence that the University of Alcalá, one of the oldest in world history, had on other universities in the country and the world can still be seen in their architecture.

A little history

The settlement on the site of present-day Alcala de Henares dates back to Neolithic times. This area was then inhabited by the Celts, and from the first century AD a Roman city appeared here. The site of the execution of two Christian youths, committed under Diocletian, became an object of pilgrimage, and travelers flocked to the city. Subsequently, Alcala de Henares was ruled by the Visigoths and Arabs, and then a famous university appeared here - Alcala de Henares flourished in the Middle Ages. True, this ended in the 18th century, when the university was moved to Madrid.

How to get there

In the absence of traffic jams, you can get to the city from Madrid in just over half an hour by car along the E90 highway. Trains to Alcalá leave every eight minutes on weekdays and take the same half hour.

Search flights to Alcala de Henares

Entertainment and attractions of Alcala de Henares

The long pedestrian street Calle Mayor starts from Piazza Cervantes, where there is a monument to the writer. Another important city thoroughfare is st. Cardinal Cisneros, along which tourists can walk from the Madrid Gate at the entrance to Alcalá to the old city center and Cathedral Square.

One of the city's main attractions and points of pride is the old university complex. Its buildings can be found throughout Alcalá de Henares, but are predominantly located on two campuses. The first is located on the north side of Alcalá, and houses the science faculties and student housing (this part of the campus has its own separate train station). The second, central one, houses most of the faculties of social sciences and humanities, including the law school.

The influence that the University of Alcalá, one of the oldest in world history, had on other universities in the country and the world can still be seen in their architecture. For example, the University of San Diego was built to a large extent on his model: even its campus is called “Alcala Park”. Some Texas Tech buildings were also designed based on the Alcala building design.

But this is unnecessary

Tours from 50,000 rub. for two. Summer 2019! An unforgettable vacation at the best resorts: , . Tours in installments - no overpayment! Treat yourself and your loved ones. Hurry up to book! Discounts for children up to 30%. Buy a tour. Departures from Moscow - get a discount right now.

Holidays from 42,000 rub. for two. The most delicious offers for summer 2019! Interest-free installments for tours! Popular resorts and proven hotels. , . Discounts for children up to 30%. Hurry up to book! Purchasing tours. Departures from Moscow - get a discount right now.

In the university chapel, consecrated in honor of St. Ildefonso, you can see a monument to the founder of the university, Cardinal Cisneros. It was created by the Italian sculptor Fancelli.

The university was founded by King Sancho IV of Castile as the "Studio Generale" in 1293. Under the patronage of Cardinal Cisneros, it received a Papal Bull in 1499 and quickly gained international fame as a major educational center during the Renaissance. This happened not least thanks to the release of the translated Complutensian Bible in 1517, which became the basis for most modern translations.

After its transfer to Madrid in 1836, the university returned to Alcalá only in 1977. Parts of the new university occupied old buildings in the city center, including the modern College of St. Ildefonso and several new colleges.

Alcala de Henares

The second outstanding city landmark is the Santos Niños Cathedral, consecrated in honor of St. Justus and Pastor, those same Christian young martyrs. The cathedral was built in 1497-1514, and the relics of martyrs of the 4th century are kept here. In 414, a chapel was built at the site of their murder, which became a cathedral in Visigothic times. In 1053, the old city was captured by Ferdinand the Great, but the following year it was recaptured by the Moors, who destroyed the cathedral in retaliation. The temple was rebuilt in 1122, but was little used and again required reconstruction in 1495-1517. We can see its result today. The bell tower was added in 1528-1582, but received its current appearance in 1618. Also in the 17th century. a cloister and St. Peter's Chapel appeared.

In 1904, the cathedral building was declared a national monument, which did not prevent it from being burned during the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939. Nevertheless, today the temple looks amazing and has a special honorary status of “magisterial”, which besides it has only one other church in the world (St. Peter's in Leuven, in Belgium).

The western façade of the cathedral bears pronounced features of the interesting Floridian architectural style, which is also called “Isabelline Gothic”.

Another city attraction is the Archbishop's Palace. It was here that Christopher Columbus first met with King Ferdinand in the hope of obtaining funding for his expedition. Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and the future first wife of the English king Henry VIII, was born here.

The famous white storks of Alcala have been living in large populations in the city for about 20 years. Large nests can be seen on many churches and old buildings. About 150 storks themselves, which are carefully protected, return to the city every year, and tourists organize photo hunts for them.

As a result of archaeological excavations in Alcalá de Henares, the Roman Forum was excavated with an extensive architectural complex consisting of a basilica, public baths, a cryptoportico, a market and a solitary monumental façade. Off the forum is the domus, where you can see an extraordinary collection of classic domestic Roman murals. You can also admire a valuable collection of mosaics at the Regional Archaeological Museum.

The idea came to my mind to somehow systematize all my memories and impressions from tourist trips. Again, a diary is an excellent opportunity to tell friends about your vacation, both those living on the next street and those who live on the other side of the state border.

In 2013 I traveled to Spain. She lived mainly in Barcelona and Madrid. As a test of the pen, I’ll tell you about a small town in the vicinity of Madrid - Alcala de Henares.

From Madrid I got there by train, which departs from Atoche station several times an hour.

Alcalá de Henares is an ancient city in Spain, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Historical information about the origin of the city is very voluminously presented in various sources on the Internet, so I will not rewrite it here. It is noteworthy, for me at least, that the city got its name from the Arabic word “al-qalat” - “fortress” or “castle”, since from the 8th to the 12th centuries the Arabs lived here and they built a fortress here. After the Arabs, there were a lot of towns in Spain with the name “Alcala”, so the name of the river was added to this name - de Henares.

So, Alcala de Henares is a very small, but no less famous city.

It was here that the first meeting of the then unknown navigator Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand took place.

It was here that Miguel de Cervantes was born.

Well, first things first.

Upon leaving the train station, I headed down paseo de la Estacion

and very soon I saw the Loredo Palace. The building is made in the Mudejar style with Gothic elements.

Inside the palace there is a small museum, with interiors also in different styles, but I was not lucky. On the day of my trip it was closed. If anyone is interested, perhaps somewhere on the Internet you can see photographs of visitors.

I head further to the building of the oldest university in Spain. It was founded was Cardinal Cisneros in 1496 and consisted of a set of schools of different levels.The first college established by the cardinal was the collegeSan Ildefonso. Subsequently, it acquired a facade, which can be seen in many photographs and postcards.

In 1836, the Spanish government ordered its transfer to Madrid, where it was renamed the Central University of Madrid. Further, in order to simplify the work of the university in the capital of Spain, some of its faculties are transferred to Alcala. and the revival of the university begins in its homeland, Alcala de Henares. After this, he receives as a gift several historical objects from the Cisneriana College, which once belonged to the Conduenos society.

In 1981, the shield and motto of the revived University of Alcalá de Henares were legally enshrined.

The colleges subsequently established around the university are today architectural monuments. And some still operate as university departments. I will definitely get to them.

The university is best known for its outstanding achievements in education during the Golden Age.At that time, scientists put the unique book collections of the University of Alcala on a par with the libraries of the Vatican, Venice, Florence and Paris.

Every year the King of Spain presents the Cervantes National Prize for Literature in the Main Auditorium of the university, decorated in the Mudejar style.

Before college San Ildefonso you can see a statue of its founder.

In 1998, UNESCO declared the University and the historical part of the city of Alcala de Henares an important historical heritage of world history. This was facilitated by the uniqueness of the buildings and structures of the ancient city, as well as the presence within the walls of the University of Alcala of ancient bibles published in different languages and, of course, the fact that this city is the birthplace of the world famous Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes.

Well, I'm moving on. As I already wrote above, Alcala de Henares is a small town and all the most beautiful and remarkable things await just around the corner. Having walked around the University, I find myself in a square of simply indescribable beauty.

Meet Piazza Cervantes:

I tried my best to convey this beauty. Whether it worked out or not is up to you to judge.

A few shots from the opposite side of the square:

This is how the Spaniards’ love for their famous native was expressed in such splendor. To be honest, this is not the only attraction of the city associated with the name of Miguel Cervantes.

From Piazza Cervantes to the Cathedral there is a street called Calle Mayor - the longest arcaded street in Spain. . The street has been known since the 13th century; even then it was busy and commercial, belonging to the Jewish quarter.

The street seems to be a single whole: identical two-story houses (on the ground floor there are shops, on the second - the owners’ homes) with identical balconies and identical arcades on the first floor - buyers could make purchases without getting wet, already from the 15th-16th centuries.

Since the end of the 20th century, Calle Mayor has been pedestrianized.

At number 48 on Main Street there is a 15th-century house. It was here that the famous city dweller was born and raised. Now this house houses the Cervantes Museum. In front of him, on a bench, the bronze Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are discussing something.

You can sit down with them and take a photo. They prudently left some space between the celebrities for tourists. Tourists of preschool and primary school age take pictures while climbing right on them. But there is still room for mom and dad.

Unfortunately, there are no photographs from the museum. It is simply prohibited to take photographs inside. The museum very carefully recreates the interiors from the period of Cervantes' life. All halls decorated in accordance with the traditions of the Golden Age, reflecting the daily life of those times. Each room of the museum recreates the life and habits of a wealthy family who lived during the Spanish Golden Age. Here you can see the bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and even the study of Father Miguel de Cervantes, as well as a table on which sketches of future works made by Cervantes 400 years ago are publicly available. Visitorscan also access an immersive installation that recreates Pedro's famous puppet Altar from Don Quixote II, Chapter XXV and other scenes from the book. In addition, the museum containsabout 200 rare books published between the 17th and 21st centuries. The museum's library collections consist of art books and magazines, works related to Alcala de Henares, publications about the life and work of Cervantes.

After visiting the house-museum, I returned back to Piazza Cervantes. To be honest, I really liked the flower-filled cafe on the square. This is where I was going to have lunch.

After lunch, I decided to take a walk around the square and walk to the cathedral along another street.

Directly behind the square, a little to the right, there is a tall tower, which used to be the bell tower of the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor.

Once upon a time in church Santa Maria la Mayor Miguel Cervantes was baptized. His font is still kept in the chapelCapilla del Oidor, and the church itselfwas destroyed during the civil war.

To the right of the square is the Town Hall. it is easy to recognize by its clock tower:

Now it houses some kind of museum.

Trinity College is located not far from Piazza Cervantes:

Since I was walking without guides, I laid out the walking route according to the meaning of “wherever my eyes look.” Knowing that all the small ancient cities are organized according to the principle “all roads lead to the cathedral”, in general it doesn’t matter which way to get to it. The main thing is to know the direction.

Beyond Piazza Cervantes, I turned right and walked down College Street. The ancient name of the street - Roman - is due to the fact that two important Roman roads intersected here. The modern name of the street means that the bulk of the city’s colleges are located on it.

In the distance is a building with sharp spiers - Malaga College - now the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature:

College buildings are constantly adjacent to the buildings of churches and monasteries. Apparently science was better with the word of God.

Jesuit College founded in 1546 by Francisco de Villanueva under the patronage of Infanta Juana of Austria. NowThe Higher School of Law is located here:

Saint Catalina College, founded by Catalina de Mendoza y Cisneros in 1586. Inside there is a 17th-century chapel with a Baroque dome:

And I go out to the Square of the Holy Children. To understand why it is called that way, I will copy the historical excursion.

Plaza de los Santos Ninos is named after the holy Christian children Justo and Pastor, who were brutally tortured in this area in 306 by order of Emperor Diocletian. The monument (1986), all filled with some kind of stalls, was erected to commemorate the first meeting of Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings - Isabella and Ferdinand. The main building of the square, of course, is the Cathedral of the Holy Children (Cathedral de los Santos Ninos).

After the execution of the holy children in 306, a chapel was erected over their tomb, in 1122, 1477 and 1519. The chapel was rebuilt, the last time - on the direct orders of Cardinal Cisneros. Brothers Anton and Martin Egas created the Gothic look that we see today. The tower, on which today storks have built no less than 10 nests, was completed later - in 1582 by the master Nicolas de Vergara according to the drawings of Rodrigo Gil de Hontanon, who began its construction. Already in 1519, the church received the title of perfect; only the Church of St. Pedro in Belgium has received such an honor in the Christian world. Katherine of Aragon, the future Queen of England, Fernando of Bohemia, the future Emperor of Germany, and Manuel Azaña, the future President of the Second Spanish Republic, were baptized here. In 1991, the church became a cathedral.

After a walk around the cathedral, I went to the Archbishop's Palace - the next main attraction of the city.

After the city was recaptured from the Moors, it came under the jurisdiction of the archbishops of Toledo. It was they who became the main customers and sponsors of all construction projects in the city. And the most impressive of them was this palace. It was first built as a citadel, then it was rebuilt into a magnificent residence. In the 19th century, the palace was restored in the neo-Mudéjar and neo-Gothic styles, resulting in a very impressive mixture.

From those times when the palace was still a citadel, a small piece has been preserved - Tenorio Tower from the east side:

It was in these elaborate, Arabic-style walls that Katherine of Aragon, the future Queen of England, and Fernando of Bohemia, the future Emperor of Germany, were born. It was here that the first meeting of Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand took place, and six years later an unknown navigator discovered a new continent...

At the foot of the wall separating the city from the palace, there is a monument to Queen Isabella:

But the statue of another famous crowned person - Catherine of Aragon, the future Queen of England, is located under the Tenorio Tower:

For a long time, the Archbishop's Palace was considered one of the most luxurious palacios in Spain. Unfortunately, it has survived to this day in a very “truncated” form, since most of it was irretrievably damaged during a fire in 1939...

The Cistercian monastery of St. Bernard in Alcala de Henares was founded in 1613 by Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Roxas for 20 Cistercian nuns who belonged to his family. The building was designed in the Baroque style by the famous Spanish architect Juan Gomez de Mora, the author of Plaza Mayor in Madrid and is distinguished by an oval dome, like most churches in Spain.

Like most ancient cities. Alcalá de Henares was once surrounded by brick walls. with many gates. Some of this former splendor has already been demolished because it interfered with traffic, but some can still be seen. The city walls have been preserved near the Archbishop's Palace, behindCistercian monastery of St. Bernard:

A few more steps forward and I left the old part of the city.

And finally, a few pictures that I wanted to take in order to leave as much in my memory of the trip as possible:

History is our daily bread, since it is tradition that attracts a huge number of tourists here every year.

City `s history

City , or, more precisely, its predecessor, appeared in the 1st century BC. e. It was then that Roman troops founded the city of Complutum, thanks to which the inhabitants of Alcala de Henares are called complutences to this day. In 305 AD e., at the beginning of the emergence of the Christian faith, by order of Emperor Diocletian, two Christian boys were executed in Complutum, later canonized by the Archbishop of Toledo. After this, the city became a place of pilgrimage.

In the 8th century, the area where Complutum had previously been located was captured by the Arabs and a fortress (Arabic: al-qalat - fortress or castle) was erected near the former Roman settlement. Thanks to this, the town received its current name - Alcala de Henares. At the same time, the name of the Henares River, on which the Arab fortification stood, was added to the word “fortress” in order to distinguish it from other fortresses.

In the 12th century, Alcala de Henares again passed into the hands of Catholics, and the new inhabitants decided to keep the previous name, but the center of the new settlement became the Church of San Justo, and the old Arab fortress was doomed to slow destruction. The new city began to develop very quickly, since it was in close proximity to the main residence of the kings of Castile and through it the monarchs often traveled to the south. Later, a palace was built in Alcala de Henares, which became the temporary residence of the kings of Castile. It was here that, much later, the first meeting between Christopher Columbus and the Catholic kings – Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon – took place.

In 1499, Cardinal Cisneros ordered the founding of the Complutense University in Alcala de Henares, where Miguel de Cervantes, who, by the way, was born in Alcala de Henares, Tirso de Molina, Lope de Vega and other famous figures of Spanish, once studied. literature. In 1836, by order of Queen Isabella II, the university was moved to Madrid, receiving the name Central University, and the city gradually became an ordinary residential suburb of the capital.

Attractions

In 1998, Alcalá de Henares was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage of Humanity due to its large number of historical and cultural monuments.

The main attraction of Alcala de Henares is perhaps the house-museum of the writer Miguel de Cervantes, famous for his novel Don Quixote. Cervantes was born in 1547, but did not live in his hometown for long, and most of his life was spent elsewhere. Cervantes died in April 1616 in Madrid. The house-museum of the great writer is a reconstructed original building, and the atmosphere of that time still reigns inside. It is worth noting that it contains a huge collection of Don Quixote books, published at different times in different languages.

Also in Alcalá de Henares there is a square named after the writer, which is also a must-see. This is the main square of the city, where there is a monument to Cervantes, a small park and the Santa Maria Tower, which offers stunning views.

In addition to the places inextricably linked with Cervantes, there are others in Alcala de Henares that are not inferior to them in beauty and significance. An example is the Comedy Theater, which is one of the oldest in Spain (1601). It can be visited both on performance days and as part of a guided tour.

Another must-stop in Alcalá de Henares is the university, which reopened in 1977. Entrance to the courtyard of the University of Alcalá is free, and a guided tour costs only 4 euros.

You should also not miss the opportunity to stroll along the main street of the city, Calle Mayor. Its uniqueness is that along its entire length there are rows of columns on both sides, and all the houses are maximum two-story, thanks to which Calle Mayor is always perfectly lit.

Holidays

Alcalá de Henares hosts a huge number of traditional events every year. holidays

On January 17, the day of St. Anthony the Great, all pet owners come to the Antezana Hospital so that their pets receive a blessing.

On April 23 (the day of Cervantes's death), a week dedicated to the writer begins. During the celebration, the annual literature prize is awarded from the hands of the kings of Spain. In 2016, the celebrations will take on a special scope, since it will be exactly 400 years since the death of the creator of Don Quixote.

On August 24, Alcalá de Henares has held a fair for 800 years with numerous shows and performances.

But the biggest and most famous holiday in Alcala de Henares takes place on October 9th. This is the day of the baptism of Miguel de Cervantes, and in his honor the city is transformed. In its historical part there is a magnificent performance, the meaning of which boils down to reproducing the atmosphere of the 16th century.

Tourism and gastronomy

It goes without saying that Alcala de Henares has all the conditions for visiting tourists.

The city has both 4-star hotels, such as Parador, AC Hotel and Rafaelhoteles Forum, and 3-star hotels - El Encin Golf, Evenia Alcalá Boutique, El Bedel and others. At the same time, Parador is a so-called inn (they are very popular in Spain), which has both an ancient and modern look.

As for food, when you get to Alcala de Henares, the first thing you need to do is visit one of the tapas bars, as this city is famous for its snacks. One of the best is the Indalo Tapas bar, which traditionally serves free tapas with every drink ordered. At the same time, the range of these snacks is very large and they are all served freshly prepared. Another famous bar is El Tapón, a small bar that attracts locals with its tapas.

It is worth noting that Alcalá de Henares hosts food festivals. Gastronomic Week takes place in February, and Cervantes Gastronomic Days take place in early September. All restaurants in the city participate in them, offering visitors menus from the quixotic era. Throughout the year, in almost any establishment you can taste traditional food for the region and all of Spain - caldos (broths), roasts, vegetables, garlic soup and much more.

Among the sweets in Alcalá de Henares, it is recommended to try pieces of bread fried in butter with chocolate sauce (migas con chocolate), twisted cakes or roasted chestnuts. Another local sweet is the rosquillas de Alcalá (Alcalá donuts), which are actually made from puff pastry and topped with an egg yolk glaze. Another famous dessert is the costrada de Alcalá, a pastry made from puff pastry, pastry cream, meringue and ground almonds.