Alcala De Henares: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 49 - 70 Ibis Madrid Alcalá de Henares
 Ibis Madrid Alcalá de Henares is next to Dehesa Shopping Centre, 30 minutes’ drive from Madrid. It features a 24-hour bar and air-conditioned rooms… MoreEUR 50 - 145 Husa El Bedel
 The El Bedel Hotel offers a superb location in the heart of Alcalá de Henares, (World Heritage Site) and only a few minutes from Barajas Internationa… MoreEUR 41 - 238 Hotel Cisneros
 Situated 200 metres from Alcalá old town, Cisneros Hotel is connected by the A2 motorway to Madrid’s IFEMA convention centre and Barajas Airport. I… MoreEUR 50 - 88 Hotel Apartamentos Don Juan I
 These apartments are located in the heart of the enchanting, Medieval city – home to the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes and now declared … MoreEUR 49 - 99 Ibis Madrid Alcalá H Garena
 Situated in Alcalá’s La Garena district, Ibis Madrid Alcalá H Garena offers smart, air-conditioned accommodation with TVs. It has a restaurant and… MoreEUR 53 - 90 Metropol Rooms Alcalá
 Metropol Rooms Alcalá is located next to Alcalá de Henares’ business district and offers modern rooms with free Wi-Fi and satellite TV. It has an … MoreEUR 62 - 87 Sercotel Isla de La Garena
 The Sercotel Isla de la Garena is located in Alcalá de Henares´ La Garena commercial district. It offers a spa, free parking, free Wi-Fi and ro… MoreEUR 35 - 53 Residencia Giner de Los Ríos
 Residencia Giner de los Ríos is situated within Alcalá University Campus, 30 minutes’ drive from Madrid. This residence features well-equipped apa… MoreEUR 55 - 162 Rafaelhoteles Forum Alcala
 This design hotel is in the centre of Alcalá de Henares, with easy access by car to Madrid. The hotel has a swimming pool-Jacuzzi with great views.
… MoreEUR 100 - 354 Parador de Alcala de Henares
 This charming hotel combines modern facilities with traditional-style design and decor, and is equipped with a swimming pool and a stylish on-site res… MoreEUR 50 - 115 Hostal Restaurante Miguel De Cervantes
 Hostal Restaurante Miguel de Cervantes is situated in a charming 16th-century building in Alcalá de Henares. It offers free parking and heated, air-c… MoreEUR 35 - 40 Hostal El Val
 Hostal El Val is set next to the Val Shopping Centre, in central Alcala de Henares. It offers a 24-hour reception, continental breakfast buffet and ai… MoreEUR 39 - 110 Campanile Madrid Alcalá de Henares
 This modern, functional, 3-star hotel is situated in the new business centre, Garena Plaza, just 15 km from Madrid Barajas Airport and not far from If… MoreEUR 58 - 74 Apartamentos Alcalá
 Situated in the historic centre of Alcalà de Henares, these apartments feature a minimalist design with white furnishings and exposed wooden beams. F… MoreEUR 55 - 119 Alcalá Centro
 Situated just a few minutes walk from the attractive historical old quarter, this accommodation is a great choice for those who prefer the independenc… MoreEUR 39 - 155 Alcala Plaza
 This fashionable new hotel is located in Alcalá de Henares, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set to the northeast of Madrid.
With light, wide-open space… MoreEUR 38 - 83 Ciudad de Alcala
 Ciudad de Alcala is a pleasant walk from the centre of this charming city. The hotel offers free internet and modern design.
Free Wi-Fi and free priv… MoreEUR 29 - 89 Hostal Bari
 Hostal Bari is a simple, good-value hotel, in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Alcalá de Henares. It offers free Wi-Fi access and free private parki… MoreEUR 38 - 45 Hostal Don Juan I
 This hotel is located in the heart of the enchanting, Medieval city – home to the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes and now declared a UNESC… MoreEUR 34 - 49 Hostal Cuatro Caños
 This establishment is next to Puerta de Mártires, a completely central location 50 metres from Cisneriana University and a short distance by foot to … MoreEUR 28 - 54 Hostal Complutense
 This smart, city-centre hotel is set in an attractive townhouse in the middle of Alcalá de Henares, 30 km from Madrid’s city centre.
The Compluten… MoreEUR 50 - 108 AC Alcala de Henares
 Located in the city’s commercial and industrial area, the hotel offers easy access via the A-2 highway to both Madrid and the business area of the H… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alcala De Henares: Guide
Alcalá de Henares, or Alcalá on the Henares, is a Spain|Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and formerly one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain. Located in the Autonomous communities in Spain|Autonomous Community of Madrid (autonomous community)|Madrid, 30 km northeast of the city of Madrid, at a height of 2000 feet above sea level, it has a population of around 200,000, second largest of the region after the Spanish capital itself. The city is generally known simply as "Alcalá", but "de Henares" is often appended to differentiate other dozen of cities called also Alcalá (from a Moorish Arabic word for fortification) around Spain. Capital of Comarca de Alcalá.
The surroundings of the town are austere and bleak, but it is protected by hills on the north and east sides.
History
The city boundaries were inhabited since the Calcolitic. Pre-Roman Celtiberian tribes populated the hills nearby, but it was the conquering Ancient Rome |Romans who in 1 BC moved it to its current site. Thus, it became the only Roman town in the Madrid region - its ancient Latin name being Complutum. With 10.000 inhabitants, it reached the status of Municipium and had its own governing institutions. After the falling apart of the Roman Empire, under the Visigoths, it declined, although it also became a pilgrimage place for the Saints Justo and Pastor.
When in reconquered by the Archbishop of Toledo, Spain Bernardo de Sedirac in the name of Kingdom of Castile|Castile. The Christians preferred the Burgo de Santiuste ("Saint Just's borough") on the original Roman site and the Arab one was abandoned. The city was ceded to the Bishopric of Toledo, which granted it ferial rights. Under Christian rule until the end of the Reconquista, the city sported both a Jewish and a Moorish quarter and had a renowned marketplace. Its central position allowed it to be a frequent residence of the Kings of Castile, when traveling south.
At some time in the 1480s Christopher Columbus had his first meeting here with the Reyes Católicos, Ferdinand and Isabella. In 1496, Cardinal Cisneros founded the Universidad Complutense, which became famous as a centre of learning during the Renaissance. For economic reasons, it was moved to Madrid in 1836 (under the name Universidad Complutense de Madrid). A new university was founded in the old buildings as the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in 1977. The city suffered severe damage during the Spanish Civil War.
Historic figures
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Other notable figures associated with the city are Ferdinand I of Aragon, the mystic John of the Cross and the theologian Gabriel Vazquez|Gabriel Vázquez.
Ecclesiastical history
The town of historic importance was one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain.
At Alcalá was printed under Francisco Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros|Cardinal Ximenez' care the polyglot Bible known as the Complutensian Bible, the first of the many similar Bibles produced during the revival of Biblical studies that took place in the sixteenth century.
A Papal Bull of 7 March, 1885, united Alcalá with (effectively merging it into) the diocese of Madrid which includes the civil province of Madrid, suffragan of the archbishopric of Toledo, which was formally speaking not canonically erected before while its foundation dated from the Spanish Concordat of 1851.
The bishop's residence is since used for preserving historical archives. It was designed by Berruguete and has a famous staircase.
The principal towns within the Diocese of Alcalá with their populations in 1904, are: Alcalá itself (10,300), Colmenar de Oreja (3694), Colmenar Viejo (4758), Chinchon (4200), Escorial (4570), Getafe (3820), Leganes (5412), Morata (4000), Navalcarnero (3788), Pinto (2396), San Martin de Valdeiglesias (3290), San Sebastian de los Reyes (1477), Tetuan (2825), Torrejon (3081), Valdemoro (2726) and Vallecas (5625).
The University
The major landmark and greatest pride of the city, its Universidad de Alcalá de Henares|university, is spread throughout the city, but generally exists in two campuses. The first is on the north side of Alcala. This campus includes most science departments and student housing (as well as its own, separate RENFE station). The second, central campus houses most humanities and social science departments, including a law school.
The administration building and several other engineering buildings at Texas Tech University, in Lubbock Texas, were modeled after the architecture of Universidad de Alcala de Hernales. (www.ttu.edu)
It occupies the buildings of the old Universidad Complutense in the city centre.
In the Middle Ages Alcala was famous for its university founded by Cardinal Ximenez, which stood on the site of the modern Colegio de San Ildefonso. The old University buildings fell in ruins, and the town which at one time had a population of 60,000, numbered in 1900 about 10,000 inhabitants.
The university chapel dedicated to Saints Just and Pastor has a monument to Cardinal Ximenez by Fancelli, an Italian sculptor.
Climate
The climate in this city of central Spain couldn't be other than Mediterranean climate|continentalised Mediterranean, with cold, dry winters and hot, dry summers. Rains fall mainly in spring and autumn. Temperatures vary from some degrees sub 0ºC in December and January to some over 40ºC in July and August.
Geography
At an average of 654 m of altitude, on the southern part of the Meseta Central and occupying some 88 km²; the city was for a long time encapsuled between the hills and the river Henares to the south and east by the railway Madrid-Barcelona on the north and west. However, the expanding population has forced two new residential areas to be created between the railway and the motorway and beyond the latter. The historical centre lies still roughly in the middle of the urban area. It is characterised by lower, Spanish Golden Age buildings, of which the most lavish belong to the University. This gained for the city's receiving the title of World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1998
Surrounding it there are the awful, high, swiftly built blocks of the 60's, during Francoist era. They fill spaces to the north up to the railway line and to the west until the industrial zone begins. This was erected in the early 60 and has developed and expanded. Now it occupies a good third of the city's area being cut by the mentioned railway and motorway. To the east, the old blocks limit with a more recent area of lower blocks with gardens and (semi-)detached houses. This kind of construction constitutes also the landscape of the new districts beyond the railway and the motorway.
The river remains widely underused. Although there are plans now in force to reconvert it into a major leisure place for the alcalaínos, it presents still no more than fairly good tracks for cycling and walking.
Immigration
Some 18% of the population has a foreign nationality, a large part of the new-comers (30%) are immigrants from East Europe|Eastern Europe. Many Overseas Chinese|Chinese businesses have also established in the city.
Transport and Tragedy
Alcalá's excellent transport links with Madrid have led to its becoming a commuter town, with many of its inhabitants travelling to work in the capital. It was affected particularly badly by the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings|March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid as the bombed trains all originated at or passed through Alcalá.
Twinning
Alcalá de Henares, as the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon, is twinned with the English city of Peterborough in the United Kingdom, her final resting-place.
Sources and external links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Alcala De Henares". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
See also
Complutenses, authors of the courses of Scholastic philosophy, theology and moral theology who were lecturers of the philosophical college of the Discalced Carmelites at Alcalá de Henares