Province & Villages - Granada - History
Granada information
History
The history of Granada, Spain, can be dated back further than
even ancient times, perhaps its founding lay at the hands
of Noah's daugther or, conversely, the daughter of Hercules
and Granata. History, invariably an aesthetic option, assures
us that in Granada there once stood important Iberian and
Roman settlements, a customary fact in almost all southern
cities of the Iberian Peninsula. The city of Granada is also
said to have played an important role in the Christianization
of the Peninsula, not only due to the documented apparition
of Cecilio, the city's patron saint, in 60 A.D., but also
the celebration of the first council of the Spanish Church,
held in the then-named Iliberis in the year 300.
Historical dates are crucial in a city's evolution, but in
the case of Granada there exists a central focal point, a
date around hinge, a moment which makes sense of it all.
An Arabist recounted that on the second of January 1942 the
people of Granada woke up to find that their medieval Muslim
settlement had been transformed into a modern Christian city.
The medieval had already arrived late, in 1013, and as the
result of a transfer of power. The protective empire of the
Caliphate was now a thing of the past and the sourronding
hills were safe.
For security reasons, the city was moved to the Albaicín
from the nearby Sierra Elvira which now grants its
name to the Granada's famous gateway.
The ziries, a non-Arabic North African clan, became monarchs
and constructed a new city on the remains of the others that
stood there before.
Scarcely a few centuries later, having conqueres Granada once
again, Muhammad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Nasr, also known as Ibn
al-Ahmar, forged a new dynasty in 1238 - the Nasrid.
This would become the last Muslim kingdom in Western Europe,
in fact the Nasrids remained in power until almost 15th century,
building the Alhambra palaces in the process.
Granada continued to expand and a new wall, the alcazaba
Yidida would join the old one, creating a fortified settlement
which would never have to be defended, another of history
paradoxes. The surrender of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs
in 1942 would sumerge the city into the modern world, or perhaps
on the contrary it was the city itself which modernized the
Monarchs. To start with, the change would affect merely the
head of the power; one King for another, or in this case...
a Queen.
Following the surrender, conditions proved favourable and
those in charge, above all the archbishop Hernando de Talavera,
would try their best to govern a world which was at the same
time both fascinating and disturbing. How could they harmonize
that strange society with the new State created in the Peninsula?
History would soon work its tricks and Felipe II, from the
Austria family, would shatter Isabel's dreams once and for
all, the pacific cohabitation of two worlds which, in reality,
were not so dissimilar, was over. 1500 saw the first uprising
in the Albaic&icaute;n, this continued until the illustrious
don Juan de Austria had put pay to the rebillious Moriscos
in the Alpujarras and killed their king Aben Humeya or don
Fernando de Válor.
The exile, expulsion and colonization of new inhabitants prepared
the city for the Counter- Reformist religious explosion which
would convert 17th century Granada into a permanently baroque
spectacle.
It would not be until the 19th century that Granada would
experience interesting transformations, where territories
opened by Disentailment became influenced by French and English
taste as in the design of parks, squares and gardens. El
Salón, la Bomba and other plazas are result of
this activity, although their building led to the destruction
of an important part of the Granada's ancient design. This
can be seen in the case of the Gran Vía, whose
construction would sacrifice the ancient barrio of
the Mezquita Mayor.
During the 20th century, Granada has continued slipping southwards,
towards the vega (the city's plain), surpassing even
the Camino de Ronda's attempted frontier. Speculative,
tasteless town-planning was blame for the erecting of enormous
blocks organized around two large parallel axes: the above
mentioned Camino de Ronda and calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcón.
Far removed from Granada's habitual urban layout, the blocks
soon filled up with new inhabitants. Thus, in a dizzying process,
the student flats were born.
The scheme was devised spontaneously yet with great conviction.
From flat to flat and block to block, attitudes and relations
created by this very disorder would begin to flow, developing
totally new customs, uses and habits which would help to shape
the Granada we know today.
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