Toledo
Toledo: Cathedral to the left, the Alcázar to the right.
View from the parador hotel, across the River Tagus.
Early History of Toledo
Toledo stands virtually in the centre of Spain. It is strategically situated on a rocky bluff dominating a gorge, and surrounded on all sides but the north by the fast-flowing Tagus. The Romans captured it in 192 BC, but it was the Visigoths who launched it into prominence when they established it as their capital in middle of the 6th century. By doing so, they located political power in the centre of the peninsula for the first time in Spanish history. A series of church councils in Toledo from 589 also established the city as the country’s religious centre. This, together with Toledo’s political status, set in motion the symbiotic relationship between Church and State that has –with some exceptions in modern times—been a constant of Spanish history. It‘s here that we have the beginning of the myth that identifies Toledo with the “soul of Spain.” But not all Spaniards are happy with that generalization. Many Catalans, Basques, Galicians, even Andalusians and Extremadurans equate Toledo with Castile and Castile’s historic penchant for centralization to the detriment of their cultures.
Toledo was taken by the Moors in 712, but a significant number of Jews and Christians remained and enjoyed freedom to practice their religions. The Christians (Mozárabes) continued practicing their Visigothic church rites, a pre-Latin liturgy that is still celebrated today in the Capilla Mozárabe of the Cathedral.
With the collapse of Córdoba, capital of al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) in 1031, Toledo enjoyed a brief period of relative independence as a small kingdom before being reconquered by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085. As the southernmost Christian city, jutting into the heart of al-Andalus, Toledo’s strategic position made it the most important city in Christian Spain. Its conquest meant that the centre of the peninsula was back in Christian hands for the first time since the early 8th century, and it was the return of Visigothic Spain's capital and spiritual centre. Under Alfonso it now acquired the title of Imperial city (a designation that it has claimed ever since); he styled himself Emperor of Toledo, King of the Three Religions and as if that were not enough, Emperor of all Spain.
Christian Toledo
The tradition of tolerance continued under Christian rule and a famous school of translators was soon formed in the city, taking advantage of the wealth of Arabic libraries and its established Jewish population, which was fluent in Arabic. Indeed, the role of the Jews was so significant at that time that Toledo was even called “the Jewish city.”
Although the Christians tolerated the Muslims and Jews who remained after the conquest, they quickly established their authority converting mosques into churches, and then adding monasteries and convents.
Toledo: The Church of Cristo de la Luz, converted
mosque (under repair, 2008)
Their biggest undertaking, however, was the great Gothic Cathedral, begun in 1227. Built on the site of the former main mosque, the cathedral was the definitive statement that Christianity was back to stay in the heart of the peninsula.
Other impressive buildings followed, including the late 15th–century monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, intended by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel, as their burial place (they are actually buried in Granada). Charles V, their grandson and Holy Roman Emperor, made the city his main residence and rebuilt the massive Alcázar as a royal palace. A surge of building --palaces and hospitals as well as more monasteries, convents and churches-- confirmed the city’s imperial status, especially appropriate now that Spain had an empire stretching across much of Europe and into the New World.
During the 16th century, Toledo enjoyed its most prosperous period and built up an enviable reputation. Its swords were the best anywhere, its silk and tile industries the finest, its women the most beautiful and cultivated, its men ascetic, proud and gallant, and the Spanish spoken there the purest. The painter El Greco arrived in 1577 and his visions of tortured saints and his other-worldly views of Toledo have indelibly linked the city with mystical fervor. Perhaps so, but it also had a lively red light district, and conspicuous clerical wealth and corruption to judge by the comments of 16th-century contemporaries.
Decline of Toledo
In 1561 Toledan pride suffered a blow when Philip V named lowly Madrid (only 70 kilometers to the north) as capital of his empire. Many reasons have been put forward for Philip’s decision, ranging from his dislike of the arrogance of the Toledan clergy to the tortuous narrow streets, steep gradients and cramped location that ironically made it unsuitable for Philip’s imperial vision. Toledo was still a centre of intellectual activity –El Greco painted there, an Academy of Mathematics was founded in 1582 — and as late as 1619 the perceptive economist ("arbitrista") Gonzalo de Cellórigo could still comment favorably on Toledo’s condition compared to other towns in the country.
But in the long run Madrid’s gain was Toledo’s loss. By 1640 Toledo had lost half its population; by the 18th the Church enjoyed a virtual monopoly with almost a quarter of the city’s population being ecclesiastics. The 19th century brought no improvement. The French ransacked it during the Peninsular War, monasteries which had been forcibly closed in the 1830s were sold and converted to other uses, and the population dropped to about 13,000. The city was dead, observers said, and its inhabitants buried in the past.
Toledo limped into the 20th century and remained a provincial backwater until 1936 when it suddenly hit the headlines after General Franco diverted his forces from their advance towards Madrid during the Civil War. Symbolically it was important that the city, indelibly linked with Spain’s Catholic soul since the times of the Visigoths, be saved from the “godless” Republicans and remain in Catholic hands. And so, in cinema newsreels across the world, people were informed of the heroic defense of the Alcázar in the face of fierce Republican attacks and of Toledo’s salvation by the Franco Nationalists. In 1940 the city was declared a national monument, a move that probably spared it the building atrocities that many towns suffered under the Franco regime.
Toledo Reborn
Toledo is now the capital of the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha and, as such, has recovered some of its political lustre. But it’s not for its political role that we go there. Toledo thrives on tourism. In 1986 it was named a World Heritage Site. Thanks ironically in part to its easy access from Madrid, sightseers flock by day through the twisting streets visiting its national monuments, purchasing imitation swords, damascene shields, El Greco reproductions and Talavera tiles; by night Toledo recovers its silent magic, and its brilliant past is easily evoked by shadows cast in those dimly lit laneways and by the echoing footsteps of some lonely night owl.
Useful English web site: www.go-toledo.com
Places to see
When you walk, or better wander, through the streets of old Toledo you are immersed in history. But first make time to take a taxi to the Parador, outside the walls of Toledo. It’s well worth it for an unforgettable view of the city; it will also give you an idea of how to organize your trip. From the parador, you are looking north. The suggested places below go roughly from east to west and then north.
Plaza de Zocodover: former Arab souk and then city’s Tuesday market until the 60s, it has also witnessed bullfights and Inquisitorial “autos da fe.” Somewhat triangular in shape, the Zoco is Toledo’s main “plaza,” a place to sit and watch the world go by.
Alcázar: A short step south of the Zocodover, the massive Alcázar stands on the highest point of Toledo and together with the Cathedral dominates the skyline. Romans, Visigoths and Muslims built forts here. The present citadel was originally built in the 16th century as a royal residence for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, but it has undergone several restorations. It suffered serious damage at the beginning of the 18th and 19th centuries and was almost destroyed at the beginning of the Civil War (1936-39). It acquired something of a mythical status with Franco Nationalists after it was besieged by Republican forces early in the Civil War. Its commander, Colonel Moscardó, refused to surrender despite threats by the Republicans to kill his captured son, Luis, within 10 minutes. Speaking on the phone to Luis, Moscardó told him to shout "Long live Spain" and die like a patriot. Doubt has been cast on the authenticity of the event, but it remains at least part of the myth of the defence of the Alcázar. It echoes in many ways what happened in the southern town of Tarifa besieged by Muslim forces in 1294. Rather than surrender the castle, Guzman el Bueno, advised his captured son to prepare to die. The Alcázar now houses a military museum and a regional library.
Cathedral: Basically a Gothic church, begun in the early 13th century with several later stylistic additions. The Cathedral is the seat of the Primate of Spain and its wealth legendary. One early 16th-century traveler thought it the richest in Christendom. A popular 16th-century saying summed up four of the best known Spanish cathedrals like this: "Toledo the richest, Seville the largest, Santiago the strongest and León the prettiest." Like many Castilian Gothic churches, the Cathedral of Toledo has an imposing choir and chancel (“capilla mayor”) rising in the middle of the nave. The choir stalls have wonderful carvings in walnut, the lower tier depicting the conquest of the kingdom of Granada. Both stalls and chancel opposite them are closed off by magnificent wrought iron screens. The altarpiece in the chancel is a riot of carved, painted and gilded sculptures. Don’t miss the Sacristy, with paintings by e.g. El Greco, Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Velázquez and Goya. There are numerous side chapels. In the Capilla Mozárabe mass is still celebrated following the Visigothic rites practiced by Christians living under Muslims (pre 1085, when Toledo was reconquered by Christian armies).
Church of Santo Tomé: Contains El Greco’s masterpiece, the Burial of the Count of Orgaz (Entierro del Conde de Orgaz).
Casa de El Greco: There’s no evidence that El Greco actually lived here. The “casa” was restored in 1910 to look like a typical 16th-century house. It contains a miscellaneous collection of minor works by El Greco, Velazquez, Murillo, Zurbarán and others.
Sinagoga del Tránsito: One of two synagogues remaining of a once vibrant Jewish presence in Toledo. 14th-century building deceptively modest on the outside. Inside, its interior walls of arabesque patterns are startlingly intricate, more in line with the inner chambers of the Alhambra or Pedro the Cruel’s palace in Seville, built at approximately the same time. Only the Hebrew inscriptions identify the building as a Jewish temple and not a mosque. It now houses a small Sephardic Museum.
Sinagoga de Santa María la Blanca: Built in 13th century, and beautifully restored, it was in turn a refuge for prostitutes, an army barracks and a carpenter’s shop. Looks like a small mosque with its striking rows of horseshoe arches.
Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes: A monastery church founded by Ferdinand and Isabel, the Catholic Monarchs, in 1476. Beautifully elegant late Gothic, its light open interior makes a good comparison with the somber Cathedral (note that San Juan has no choir or "capilla mayor" in the nave). Beautiful two-storeyed cloisters. Outside, on the exterior walls are lots of chains hung there by Christians freed following captivity during the conquest of Granada.
La Puerta Antigua de Bisagra: Part of old Arab walls, this 9th-century gate is also called Puerta de Alfonso VI since it was apparently through here that Alfonso VI and The Cid entered Toledo when the city was conquered in 1085.
Iglesia de Santiago del Arrabal: Mudéjar brick church probably built during reign of AlfonsoVI (who reconquered Toledo in 1085) and later reconstructed in the 13th century. (Mudejars were Muslims who chose to remain under Christian rule; brick buildings were a characteristic of their style) The tower with its arched windows was the minaret of an earlier mosque.
Mezquita/Iglesia de Cristo de la Luz: Tiny mosque built in late 10th century. A brick apse was added in the 12th century.
