P72 - Spain - Toledo - Gate of Bisagra

Gate of Bisagra, Toledo, Spain ( UNESCO WHS )

Toledo (Latin: Toletum) is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures. Many famous people and artists were born or lived in Toledo, including Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo. As of 2007[update], the city has a population of 78,618 and an area of 232.1 km² (89.59 square miles).

Toledo once served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning with Liuvigild (Leovigild), and was the capital until the Moors conquered Iberia in the 8th century. Under the Caliphate of Cordoba, Toledo enjoyed a golden age. This extensive period is known as La Convivencia, i.e. the co-existence of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Under Arab rule, Toledo was called Tulaytulah (Arabic طليطلة, academically transliterated Ṭulayṭulah).

On May 25, 1085 Alfonso VI of Castile took Toledo and established direct personal control over the Moorish city from which he had been exacting tribute, and ending the mediaeval Taifa's Kingdom of Toledo . This was the first concrete step taken by the combined kingdom of Leon-Castile in the Reconquista by Christian forces.

Toledo was famed for its production of iron and especially of swords and the city is still a center for the manufacture of knives and other steel implements. When Philip II moved the royal court from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the old city went into a slow decline from which it never recovered.

Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.

The Puerta de Bisagra Nueva (The New Bisagra Gate) is the best known city gate of Toledo, Spain. The gate is of Moorish origin, but the main part is built in 1559 by Alonso de Covarrubias.[1] It carries the coat of arms of the emperor Charles V. It substituted the Puerta Bisagra Antigua as the main entrance to the city.

托莱多（西班牙語：Toledo），西班牙古城。始於羅馬時期，在腓力二世前為卡斯蒂利亞王國（後西班牙王國）首都。為世界文化遺產之一。

References sources : wikipedia