Alcalá de los Gazules is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2006 census, the town has a population of 5,633 inhabitants. Alcalá de los Gazules is situated in the

Sierra de Cádiz Sierra de Cádiz (Spanish: "Cádiz Mountains") is a comarca (county, but with no administrative role) province of Cádiz (Andalusia, southern Spain). Most of the comarca's territory falls within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, a protected ar ...

. Although not officially one of the pueblos blancos, Alcalá is still listed, since 1984, as having Artistic-Historic status.

History

Alcalá de los Gazules was first populated by the Romans in CE189 and supplied them with food, oil, wine, and metal. During Roman occupation, the city was known as Lascuta. As the Roman empire weakened, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

moved in and renamed the area Valdalusia but they lasted only twenty years, 409–429. They were followed by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

who left behind the impressive tower, the Mesa de Esparragal. For many years until the Catholic

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

took control, at the end of the 15th century of the last Muslim kingdom in the south of Spain, there was a demarcation line between the Islamic and Christian regions, along which sat towns that are now known as the pueblos blancos, the white towns, and Alcalá was on the border. Many of these towns were fortified and Alcalá has a number of towers around its perimeter, now fallen into disrepair. Following the Catholic consolidation in Spain, many mosques were knocked down and in Alcalá, the famous church of San Jorge in the top square was built in the mid-16th century on top of the ruins of the old mosque. During the

Peninsular Wars The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...

in 1809 a mounted militia from Alcalá made a successful ambush on some nearby French troops. A year later General Manbourg's troops took revenge by cutting the throats of the entire population and blowing up the castle.

Demographics

Monuments and sights

*Yacimiento Laja de los Hierros. *Yacimiento romano de la Mesa del Esparragal. *Depósitos romanos de la Salada. *Casa del Cabildo. * Iglesia Mayor Parroquial de San Jorge *Convento de Santa Clara. *Iglesia de San Francisco (Iglesia de la Victoria). *Convento de Santo Domingo. *Ermita-Santuario de Ntra. Sra. de los Santos. *Los Pozos. *Fuente de la Salada. *Puente Romano. *Casas señoriales. *Las tres torres. *Ermita de Nuestra Señora de los Santos * Church of La Victoria LateralIglesiaAyuntamientoAlcalaGazules

Celebrations

*Carnaval de Alcalá de los Gazules (late February-early March). *Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter). *Festividad de San Jorge (23 April). *Concurso de Cante Flamenco (July). *International Classical Music Festival "Al-Kalat" (mid-August). *Feria de agosto (late August). *Romería de Nuestra Señora de los Santos (early September). *Octava de Nuestra Señora de los Santos.

Economy

* Cork production *Agriculture *

Beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

* Goats' Cheese production *Tourism *Hunting

Native people

* Alejandro Sanz *

Bibiana Aído Bibiana Aído Almagro (born 2 February 1977) is a Spanish politician who served as minister of equality. She became the first person to hold the post on 14 April 2008, at the beginning of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's second term as Prime Min ...

Alfonso Perales Alfonso Perales Pizarro (19 July 1954, in Alcalá de los Gazules – 23 December 2006, in Conil de la Frontera) was a Spanish historian and politician. Biography Graduated in History, he was a professor at the University of Cádiz, University o ...

Gallery

Image:ElPicacho.jpg,

Los Alcornocales Natural Park Los Alcornocales Natural Park (in Spanish, Parque natural de Los Alcornocales) is a natural park located in the south of Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia; it is shared between the Province of Cádiz and Málaga. The natural park o ...

Image:castillo de alcalá de los gazules.jpg, Castle Image:DetalleIglesiaAlcalaGazules.jpg, Church

References

External links

*
Ayuntamiento de Alcalá de los Gazules
*

– Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala de los Gazules Municipalities of the Province of Cádiz Populated places established in the 2nd century