Alleged identification with Arriaca A Roman town called
Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture, is suggested to have been located in that region. There is however no archeological proof of its existence, only references in texts such as the
Ruta Antonina, which describe it as being in the hands of the
Carpetani when encountered by the
Romans. The city, as
Caracca, was incorporated into the Roman province of
Hispania Tarraconensis. The city was on the high road from Emerita (modern
Mérida) to Caesaraugusta (modern
Zaragoza), 22 M. P. northeast of Complutum (modern
Alcalá de Henares).
Early Middle Ages The founding of Guadalajara, dating from the Islamic period, is attributed to a person named "Faraŷ". It was officially known as Madīnat al-Faraŷ in the 9th and 10th centuries. The town was later known as Wādī Al-Ḥijāra (), possibly meaning "Valley of Stones" (as in
river gravel); in theory it may be a literal translation of the Iberian name
Arriaca. It has also been proposed that
Ḥajāra should not be understood as 'stones'/'gravel', but in the sense of 'castles' or 'fortified rocks'. Wādī Al-Ḥijāra and its surroundings were part of the Middle March of Al-Andalus, controlled by the
Masmuda Berber clan of the Banū Sālim who governed on behalf of the Umayyad rulers of Córdoba. During the Muslim period an
alcázar (fortress) was built by the mid-9th century, as well as the
Bridge over the Henares (its construction has been tentatively dated by the late 10th century or early 11th century). Walls enclosing the city were also built by then. In 920, the Banū Sālim were routed from Wādī Al-Ḥijāra (reportedly because the local population resented their rule) by
Abd al-Rahman III, who attempted to directly rule the territory. The city was part of the territory annexed by
Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 1085 conquest of the
Taifa of Toledo, with Wādī Al-Ḥijāra surrendering and offering no resistance. Tradition claims however that a contingent led by
Álvar Fáñez de Minaya (one of the lieutenants of
El Cid) seized the city on 24 June, at night. The area was repopulated with people from the North (
Castilians from the mountains and
Merindades,
Basques and
Navarreses mainly).
Alfonso VII granted Guadalajara its first
fuero on 3 May 1133. This charter progressively incorporated several amendments. The second
fuero, probably conceived during the reign of
Alfonso VIII, was anyway confirmed by
Ferdinand III on 26 May 1219 and 13 April 1251. For most of its history, up until the 20th century, Guadalajara's water supply came from two sources: the Henares river and the springs located along the cornice formed by the border of the limestone moors of
La Alcarria. Control over the scarce water resources was fought over and it became a symbol of social status for the local nobility during the Late Middle Ages. During the reign of
Alfonso X of Castile (r. 1253–1284), the protection of the king allowed the city to develop its economy by protecting merchants and allowing markets.
Rule of the Mendozas Palacio del Infantado (15th century) Traditionally a '''' ('royal demesne') town, with a vote in the Cortes of Castile, the town came under the influence of the powerful
Mendoza family until well into the Early Modern period. Despite the former meddling that underpinned the political control of the city, Guadalajara was not enshrined as formal seigneurial jurisdiction of the Mendozas in a legal sense. The family included
Íñigo López de Mendoza, also known as Marqués de
Santillana (1398–1458), and
Pedro González de Mendoza (1428–1495), Great Cardinal of Spain and adviser of the
Catholic Monarchs. The Mendoza family held the title of Dukes and Duchesses of
El Infantado from 1475. On 25 March 1460,
Henry IV granted Guadalajara the status of 'City'. In this period, the Mendoza Family ordered the building of El Palacio del Infantado as their main residence. It was completed in the early 1480s and it is considered by many the oldest surviving building built in a pure Renaissance style outside Italy. The city's economy prospered thanks to the development of a specialised artisanate and a bustling trade. In the Middle Ages, Guadalajara was home to a large
Jewish community that maintained four synagogues as well as other communal institutes, including the society
Malbish Arumim ("Clothe the Naked") and a study house or yeshiva. These included the Great Synagogue, the Synagogue of the Toledanos (established by Jews from
Toledo), the Synagogue de los Matutes (or Old Synagogue), and another known as the Midras. Around the time of the
1492 expulsion, the synagogues became the subject of disputes among local religious institutions. The Great Synagogue was sold in May 1492 and soon transferred to the church of Santa María de la Fuente, which converted it into a hospital. The Synagogue of the Toledanos was granted to the monastery of San Antolín for use as a hospital and home for aged friars. By 1591, the city had a population of 6,754. . The view, from the North, visibly features the
Bridge over the Henares, then a turreted bridge.
Crisis The
Crisis of the 17th century took a heavy toll in many Castilian cities, and particularly in Guadalajara. The city was affected by the 1610
expulsion of the moriscos both in terms of the net demographic loss (10% of the population) as well as by their critical weight in key sectors of the local economy such as the artisanate and trade. Many palaces were left forsaken. The Mendozas left the city for good in 1657. During the
War of the Spanish Succession, in the early 18th century, Guadalajara was sacked. Ravaged by the
Austracist army, a largely ruined Guadalajara hit then its lowest demographic point, with only around 2,200 inhabitants. Without external assistance the city may have simply ceased to exist. The 20,000,000
maravedies indebted to the Royal Treasury were forgiven in 1716.
Philip V ordered the establishment of the Real Fábrica de Paños (Royal Factory of Clothes), which was opened in the city in 1719 in the Palacio del Marqués de Montesclaros, critically helping the city to move on from the calamitous situation it found itself.
Contemporary times . The 19th century started with two major setbacks: the damages caused by the
Peninsular War (1808–1814) and the closing of the Real Fábrica de Paños in 1822. In 1808, Guadalajara was taken by the
French Army led by
General Hugo and the city was destroyed. During the war, the 14 convents in the city were abandoned and turned into barracks, paving the way for the future processes of
desamortización, most decisively in between 1833 and 1843. The
desamortización entailed the change of use of religious buildings (turned to hospitals, high schools, military workshops), the demolition of some convents to widen street space and to erect new residential areas, and the reduction of the share of church properties in the estate structure. Both the declaration of Guadalajara as provincial capital and the parallel installment of the
Academy of Military Engineers in the city in 1833, fostered some slow growth. Railway transport arrived to the city with the opening of the Madrid–Guadalajara stretch of the Madrid–Zaragoza line (built by the
Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante, MZA) on 3 May 1859. Conversely, the Guadalajara–
Jadraque stretch to the northeast was opened on 5 October 1860. The 20th century saw the construction of the current water supply system bringing the waters of the
Sorbe to the city. On 21 July 1936, following the general
coup d'état of 18 July that sparked the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the conspiring officers in the city (joined by the forces of public order and some civilians, amounting to an overall force of roughly 800) seized control of the city. The next day, the Republican Government in Madrid sent
Ildefonso Puigdendolas to quell the rebellion and secure the city. The rebels were pushed in retreat to the
Cuartel de Aerostación, where they surrendered. The militias executed roughly one hundred of them. The city was the target of several
aerial bombing attacks by the Francoists; the most famous, in December 1936, struck the Palacio del Infantado. during the
Battle of Guadalajara (1937). On 8 March 1937, the four divisions of the Italian
Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV), attacked Republican positions outside Guadalajara as a supporting diversionary attack supporting the Nationalist
Jarama Offensive began at the beginning of February. After four days of a slow, cautious advance during rainy weather, the tanks started attacking along paved roads and outran the air and anti-aircraft artillery support. Shortly thereafter, Republican airplanes in newly clear skies found the tanks and infantry in a traffic jam on the main road into Guadalajara. The Republican aircraft attacked and destroyed all the vehicles in the mechanized spearhead. The CTV retreated with casualties in the thousands. Ernest Hemingway labeled the attack "Italian débâcle at Guadalajara." As a result of the victory, Republican forces enjoyed an increase in recruitment. This defeat at Guadalajara had two long-standing effects. First, the Italian Army of the Mussolini dictatorship acquired a reputation for incompetence that lasted until the armistice of 1943. Second, some observing nations adopted a doctrine that ruled out tanks operating as an independent force but emphasized tying them tightly to large infantry formations. The Civil War and the heavy fighting around the city caused significant damage. After two decades of slow rebuilding, Guadalajara was included in 1959 in the development plans for alleviating the congestion of Madrid's industrial estates (
El Plan de Descongestión Industrial de Madrid en Castilla-La Mancha). These plans attempted to move industrial and accompanying residential growth to the periphery, including in Guadalajara. Since then, Guadalajara has been one of the fast-growing Spanish cities. Guadalajara absorbed the municipalities of
Taracena,
Valdenoches and
Iriépal in 1969,
Marchamalo in 1972 and
Usanos in 1973. Later, in 1999, Marchamalo segregated from Guadalajara, becoming a standalone municipality again. Nowadays, Guadalajara is involved in urban development plans that are quickly increasing the population of the city. New districts like Aguas Vivas (Live Waters) have been inaugurated. Ciudad Valdeluz was planned to increase the number of inhabitants of Guadalajara by 30,000, creating a new city around the
AVE Station (Spanish High-Speed Trains). The company investing in the construction of Ciudad Valdeluz went bankrupt. Fewer than 500 inhabitants decided to occupy their flats and the remaining infrastructure is slow degrading. The AVE trains are used by only 60 passengers a day. == Geography ==