La Alcarria
La Alcarria is a spacious landscape (approx. 5000 km²) and an administrative unit ( comarca ) in the southern part of the Iberian plateau ( meseta ) in central Spain ; it includes areas in the autonomous community of Madrid and in the provinces of Castile-La Mancha, Guadalajara and Cuenca .
geography
- landscape
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The landscape of the Alcarria is largely flat and extends at heights of around 700 to 850 m ; The highest peaks are the two approx. 970 m high and only 8 km northeast of the city of Guadalajara , the Pico del Águila and the Peña Hueva . The most important river is the Río Tajo , which comes from the northeast and is dammed in the Entrepreñas and Bolarque reservoirs , but also the Río Guadiela , which is dammed in the Buendía reservoir, and the Río Tajuña , a tributary of the Río Jarama , which is only about 15 km long Río Cifuentes , which flows into the Tagus at Trillo .
- Cities
The largest and most important cities are in the west of the Alcarria: Guadalajara (approx. 85,000), Alcalá de Henares (approx. 195,000), Arganda del Rey (approx. 55,000), Mejorada del Campo (approx. 23,000), Villalbilla (approx. 14,000), Loeches (approx. 9,000), Colmenar de Oreja (approx. 8,000), Torres de la Alameda (approx. 7,500) and Villarejo de Salvanés (approx. 7,500). With the exception of Guadalajara, the cities mentioned all belong to the greater Madrid area and are often no longer counted as part of the more rural-village-like Alcarria.
- places
Most of the towns in the north and east of the region (e.g. Cifuentes , Jadraque , Sacedón , Trillo or Zorita de los Canes ) are part of the Serranía Celtibérica , which is suffering from severe population decline . The place Angón has only about 10 inhabitants and is about to be abandoned for good ( despoblado ) .
- climate
The climate is mostly warm and with little rain (approx. 400 to 500 mm / year), which necessitates the cultivation of drought-friendly grains (e.g. barley) as well as olives and wine. At Brihuega you will find lavender fields , which are important for both perfume production and the honey production operated here .
History and sights
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Some places have a long history, some of which goes back to the Roman or Visigoth times (see Ercavica or Reccopolis ). The region has been under Islamic influence for a good 350 years since the early 8th century . After the reconquest ( reconquista ) of Toledo in 1085, she became Christian again; Several castles (castillos) (e.g. in Jadraque , Pioz , Torija or Zorita de los Canes ) and town squares (plazas) were built . There are also a number of court pillars (roller blinds or picotas) from the 16th and 17th centuries. Century as a symbol of urban independence. Moorish style influences are in some Mudejar churches of the 15th and 16th centuries. Century. In the 16./17. In the 19th century, many Renaissance churches arose - partly under the political and economic leadership of the House of Mendoza .
Some places (e.g. Brihuega , Chinchón , Hita or Pastrana ) are classified as Conjunto histórico-artístico because of their interesting old towns .
literature
- José Serrano Belinchón: La Alcarria de Guadalajara . Eds. Aache, Guadalajara 2003.
- Padrino Bienvenida and Francisco Gómez Romero: Guía de plantas silvestres flora de la Alcarria . Self-published, Guadalajara 2010.
- Camilo José Cela: Viaje a la Alcarria . Espasa, Calpe 1990.
Web links
- La Alcarria - in the footsteps of Camilo José Cela (Spanish)
- La Alcarria - Recommended Places in the Province of Guadalajara (Spanish)
- La Alcarria - Photos + various information (Spanish)