Calatayud

The town is located by the Carretera Nacional N-II highway, the Autovía A-2 and the N-234, among other local roads.

The AVE Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line,

{{cite web

|url=http://www.calatayud.es/ave/ave.asp

|title=AVE

|publisher=Ayuntamiento de Calatayud

|access-date=2009-05-31

}}

as well as the Renfe line from Madrid to Barcelona stop in Calatayud.

{{further|History of the Jews in Calatayud}}

The city was founded on the site of a Celt-Iberian settlement{{Cite web

|url= http://www.calatayud.es/turismo/presentacion.asp

|title=Calatayud: Ciudad de Encuentros |language=es

|work=Ayuntamiento de Calatayud

|access-date=30 September 2010

}} by the Romans with the name Augusta Bilbilis and was the birthplace of the poet Martial in 40 CE.

{{cite journal |last=Boehrer |first=Bruce |date=2017 |title=Martial |journal=Ben Jonson Journal |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=259–262 |doi=10.3366/bjj.2007.14.2.259}}

The site of the ruins of Augusta Bilbilis are approximately four kilometers to the north of the modern city of Calatayud.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.caiaragon.com/en/municipios/index.asp?idloc=16&tipo=1

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119002220/http://www.caiaragon.com/en/municipios/index.asp?idloc=16&tipo=1

|url-status=usurped

|archive-date=January 19, 2013

|title=Comunidad de Calatayud

|publisher=CAI Tourism of Aragon

|access-date=2009-05-31

}}

The modern town was founded by the Moors around the Ayyub castle, circa 716 CE.

{{cite journal

|title= Evaporite Dissolution Subsidence in the Historical City of Calatayud, Spain: Damage Appraisal and Prevention

|year=2002

|doi=10.1023/A:1014807901461

|last1=Gutiérrez

|first1=Francisco

|last2=Cooper

|first2=Anthony H.

|journal=Natural Hazards

|volume=25

|issue=3

|pages=259–288

|s2cid=128832226

}}

Image:Colegiata de Santa María, Calatayud, España, 2012-08-31, DD 01.JPG Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor]]

The name Calatayud came from the Arabic {{lang|ar|قلعة أيوب}} {{Transliteration|ar|Qal‘at ’Ayyūb}}, "the qalat (fortress) of Ayyub". The ancient inhabitants of Bilbilis moved to the new site. Occupying a strategic placement between the central meseta of Spain and the Ebro valley, the city retained its importance in succeeding centuries. By the eleventh century a substantial Jewish community was present, surviving the reconquista until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Judaica texts from this era refer to Calatayud as {{Script/Hebrew| קלע איוב, קלעה איוב}}, or {{Script/Hebrew|קלעיה איוב}} (Qalʿah Ayuv, Qalʿ Ayuv, Qalʿiya Ayuv).

{{cite web

|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0004_0_03843.html

|title=Calatayud

|publisher=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

|access-date=2009-01-28

}}

The city was conquered from the Muslims by Alfonso I of Aragón in 1119. Many surviving examples of mudéjar church architecture show that the Moorish influence lived on.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.arteguias.com/calatayud.htm

|title=Mudéjar Calatayud (ARTEGUIAS)

|publisher=www.arteguias.com

|access-date=2009-01-28

}}

During the Peninsular Wars a notable siege of French-occupied Calatayud led to its capture by guerillas in 1811.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} The city was the capital of its own province{{in lang|es}} [http://www.ih.csic.es/paginas/jrug/leyes/18220127.doc División provisional del territorio español de 27 de Enero de 1822] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214022744/http://www.ih.csic.es/paginas/jrug/leyes/18220127.doc |date=2009-12-14 }}, the text of the proposed 1822 territorial division of Spain, Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC, Spanish National Research Council). Accessed online 2010-01-03. in 1822–23, during the Trienio Liberal.

File:20080817-Calatayud Castillo.jpg

The town suffers from sinkholes.

{{expand section|date=June 2010}}

• One of the most notable Mudéjar towers of Aragón is the 15th-century bell tower of the collegiate church of Santa María, which was built on the site of a mosque.

{{cite web

|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001264/126491e.pdf

|title=126491e.pdf (application/pdf Object)

|publisher=unesdoc.unesco.org

|access-date=2009-05-31

}}

A Renaissance doorway was added in 1528.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Calatayúd|volume=4|page=968}}

• Santo Sepulcro, built in 1141, and restored in 1613, was long the principal church of the Spanish Knights Templar.
• This qalʿat is the biggest and oldest one on the Iberian peninsula.
• The church of "San Pedro" was founded by Ferdinand II of Aragón and it was there that the first cortes (parliament) of Aragon was held in 1411.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.caiaragon.com/en/actividades/index.asp?idAct=29&idSeccion=6&idTipo=77&idloc=639

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040525042720/http://www.caiaragon.com/en/actividades/index.asp?idAct=29&idSeccion=6&idTipo=77&idloc=639

|url-status=usurped

|archive-date=May 25, 2004

|title=Church of San Pedro de los Francos of Calatayud

|publisher=CAI Tourism of Aragon

|access-date=2009-05-31

}}

The majority of employment is in the service sector and in agriculture. Agriculture consists primarily of apple and pear orchards,{{Cite web|title=fruta de la fértil huerta bilbilitana|url=https://www.calatayud.es/turismo/gastronomia/fruta-de-la-fertil-huerta-bilbilitana|access-date=2021-11-29|website=www.calatayud.es}} although there are also some vineyards in the area).{{Cite web|title=DO Calatayud - Information|url=https://www.docalatayud.com/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118094908/http://www.docalatayud.com:80/ |archive-date=2007-01-18 }}{{Cite web|title=Calatayud - DO|url=https://www.iberowine.com/wines/calatayud|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815045752/https://www.iberowine.com/wines/calatayud |archive-date=2020-08-15 }} Industry is much less developed, although there are two industrial estates (La Charluca and Mediavega) and the creation of a third is being studied.

• Quarters: Huérmeda, Torres and Embid de la Ribera
• Villages: Campiel, Carramolina, Marivella, Ribota, San Ramón and Terrer

• Easter
• Pilgrimage (romeria) in honour of el Cristo de Ribota, May 1
• Saint Íñigo's Day, June 1
• Saint Roch's Day, August 14–16
• Virgen de la Peña, September 8–12

Calatayud has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with cool to mild winters and hot summers. Precipitation is irregular throughout the year, with spring being the wettest season and winter the driest, although August is the driest month. These precipitation patterns are typical of the semi-arid regions of Aragon. Due to its higher altitude compared to the Ebro Valley, the average annual temperature is lower, with colder winters and more pleasant summers.{{cite web|url=https://www.aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos|title=Valores Climatologicos normales|publisher=AEMET|access-date=15 December 2024}}

{{Weather box|location = Calatayud (1993–2020), extremes (1993-present)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 20.6

|Feb record high C = 24.7

|Mar record high C = 29.0

|Apr record high C = 34.0

|May record high C = 37.5

|Jun record high C = 43.0

|Jul record high C = 41.5

|Aug record high C = 42.0

|Sep record high C = 37.7

|Oct record high C = 34.5

|Nov record high C = 24.6

|Dec record high C = 21.6

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 11.0

|Feb high C = 13.4

|Mar high C = 16.6

|Apr high C = 18.9

|May high C = 23.0

|Jun high C = 28.6

|Jul high C = 31.9

|Aug high C = 31.1

|Sep high C = 26.6

|Oct high C = 21.4

|Nov high C = 14.6

|Dec high C = 10.9

|year high C =

|Jan mean C = 5.9

|Feb mean C = 7.4

|Mar mean C = 10.0

|Apr mean C = 12.4

|May mean C = 16.3

|Jun mean C = 21.2

|Jul mean C = 24.2

|Aug mean C = 23.4

|Sep mean C = 19.3

|Oct mean C = 14.9

|Nov mean C = 9.5

|Dec mean C = 6.1

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = 0.9

|Feb low C = 1.4

|Mar low C = 3.4

|Apr low C = 5.9

|May low C = 9.6

|Jun low C = 13.8

|Jul low C = 16.4

|Aug low C = 15.6

|Sep low C = 11.9

|Oct low C = 8.3

|Nov low C = 4.3

|Dec low C = 1.2

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -15.4

|Feb record low C = -9.1

|Mar record low C = -9.8

|Apr record low C = -4.9

|May record low C = -1.7

|Jun record low C = 4.8

|Jul record low C = 7.0

|Aug record low C = 6.9

|Sep record low C = 1.4

|Oct record low C = -1.3

|Nov record low C = -8.2

|Dec record low C = -14.7

|year record low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 17.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 18.7

|Mar precipitation mm = 24.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 44.3

|May precipitation mm = 49.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 33.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 21.0

|Aug precipitation mm = 14.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 23.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 34.0

|Nov precipitation mm = 33.5

|Dec precipitation mm = 18.3

|year precipitation mm =

|source 1 = Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia{{cite web |url =https://www.aemet.es/es/datos_abiertos/AEMET_OpenData |title=AEMET OpenData|publisher=Aemet.es|access-date = 4 December 2024}}

}}

File:Iglesia de San Pedro de los Francos, Calatayud, España, 2014-12-29, DD 051-055 HDR.JPG

There is a popular Spanish song that says (translated) "If you go to Calatayud / ask for Dolores (a popular female name) / she is a very nice girl / fond of granting favours" that captures the (traditional) fame of girls in Calatayud. Given that reputation, traditionally boys went to the town in order to "ask for Dolores" to be "favoured" by local girls. Nowadays this tradition has dismissed although in festivities, boys from the surroundings, even from Zaragoza, visit the town with that aim.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Calatayud has four sister cities:{{Cite web |url=http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Calatayud,%20Spain |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206105420/http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Calatayud,%20Spain |archive-date=2017-02-06 |url-status=dead }}

• Dueville, Veneto {{ITA}}
• Gáldar, Gran Canaria {{ESP}}
• Glen Ellyn, Illinois {{USA}}
• Auch, Gascony {{FRA}}

• List of municipalities in Zaragoza
• Calatayud (DO)
• Mudéjar
• Comunidad de Calatayud
• Glen Ellyn (sister city)
• Santuario de la Virgen de la Peña, Calatayud

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Wikivoyage inline}}
• [http://www.calatayud.es City website]
• [http://www.docalatayud.com Local wines]

{{Municipalities in Zaragoza}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Municipalities in the Province of Zaragoza

Category:Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Zaragoza