Albolote is a city located in the province of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, Spain. It is one of the thirty-four entities which together form Granada's Metropolitan Area. It is formed by several populations: El Aire, El Chaparral, and Parque del Cubillas y Pretel. There are also several residential areas throughout the legal borders of the municipality. Inside those limits you can also find Granada's Penitential Center (Centro Penitencial de Granada, in Spanish). According to Spain's Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the city had a total population of 15,563 in 2005. On 19 April 1956, Albolote and the neighboring town of Atarfe were struck by a 5.0 earthquake, Spain's most destructive of the 20th century. About a dozen people died from the earthquake and subsequent landslide, and many buildings were ruined. The Granada metro network, scheduled to open in 2014, will provide the town with a light metro link to central Granada.

History

Albolote was born as a town with the arrival of the

Nasrid dynasty The Nasrid dynasty ( ''banū Naṣr'' or ''banū al-Aḥmar''; ) was an Arab dynasty that ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232 to 1492. It was the last Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula. Twenty-three sultans ruled Granada from the foun ...

to the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

. The term comes from the Arabic term '''Qaryat al-Bollut, meaning 'Oak town' It was planned to be a place of rest for the troops guarding the Royal Path of Jaén. Near Albolote took place the Battle of La Higueruela on July first 1431, where king's Juan II of Castille's troops defeated the Muslim armies. This battle was illustrated at the Monastery El Escorial. In the 17th century it changed to be an estate of Don Antonio Álvarez de Bohórquez, the first marquis de los Trujillos. In the year 1803 the king, Carlos IV gave the title of Duque de Gor to Don Nicolás Mauricio Álvarez de Bohórquez.

Geography

There are four rivers which flow through Albolote: Juncaril, Colomera, Cubillas, and Magon. It is also worth mentioning the Cubillas reservoir, dedicated both to leisure and water reserve.

Climate

Albolote enjoys a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

: fresh winters and hot summers. There's a great thermic oscillation varying up to 20 °C in a single day. Most of the rain falls during winter, meaning it scarcely rains throughout the summer.

Demography

According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España, in the year 2014 Albolote had 18,306 inhabitants.

Politics

These are the results for the last elections in Albolote:

Communications

In Albolote a lot of important roads converge: autovías A-44 that joins Jaen with

and its cost-with the A-92, between Almeria and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

. It also stands out the future Segunda circunvalación de Granada (GR-30), that is currently under construction. This road will join Albolote and Alhendin without the need to cross through the center of Granada, with the relief that this will give to the vehicles that come from

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

and Jaén to the costa mediterránea in Granada. The principal roads are:

Bus

Albolote has a bus service run by Granada's consortium: Line 122 (Granada-Maracena-Albolote-Atarfe) Line 123 (Granada-Albolote por Carretera de Jaén) Line 117 (Granada-Pantano de Cubillas) METRO: Since September 2017, Albolote is connected to Granada by the metro.

Public services

Healthcare

Albolote has a basic zone of healthcare, inside the sanitary district of Granada. The town has a healthcare center in the street Alfonso XIII Nº7, and a medical consultory in the town of Chaparral.

Education

The town has 13 education centers where there is education for people of all ages:

Culture

The popular celebrations are held during the first weekend of August beginning in Thursday. These celebrations are in honor of the saint of the town, the Holly Christ of Health.

References

External links

Official city website (in Spanish)
{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Granada