La Guardia () is a municipality located in the

province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...

, Castile-La Mancha,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. There is documented presence since Bronze Age, Romans, Jews and documents since 12th century.

Geography

The municipality is located in the northeastern part of the

, and is bordered by several neighboring towns: to the northwest and west lies Huerta de Valdecarábanos; to the north, Dosbarrios; to the northeast, Villatobas; to the east, Corral de Almaguer; to the southwest, Villanueva de Bogas; to the south,

Tembleque Tembleque is a coconut dessert pudding from Puerto Rico similar to blancmange and related to Spanish manjar blanco and Filipino maja blanca. It is one of the most popular desserts in Puerto Rican cuisine. Ingredients is made by cooking c ...

and El Romeral; and to the southeast, Lillo. The municipality lies at the top of a hill, approximately 54 kilometers east of

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

and 84 kilometers from

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, along the Autovía del Sur. It belongs to the comarca of

Mesa de Ocaña Mesa de Ocaña is a Comarcas of Spain, comarca in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, in the province of Toledo (province), Toledo. Its capital and administrative center is Ocaña, Spain, Ocaña. The comarca is located in the northeast part of the province ...

and includes the territories of several now-abandoned settlements: Casar de Redondeo, Daucos, San Cebrián or Cuartos de la Hoz, Santa María, and Villapalomas. Several streams run through the municipal area, although most remain dry for much of the year. These include the Arroyo Cedrón, Vadeláguila, and Fuente del Madero.

History

Archaeological remains found in this municipality and its surroundings indicate continuous human presence since

prehistoric times Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

, with successive occupations by various peoples up until the Roman conquest. Its elevated position and strategic location along the route to

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

have historically granted it particular significance. Following the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

, King

Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

ordered that the town be taken by the

Knights of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

, to whose Order it subsequently belonged. In 1212, it played a notable role in the

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...

, for which King

Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarc ...

granted it the honor of bearing a blue border with eight golden saltires on its coat of arms, along with the title ''Muy Leal'' ("Most Loyal"). Years later, King Ferdinand III donated the town to the Church of Toledo. It was later alienated by Philip II "in favor of the Lords of Guardiola and Bazán."

Population

*2.329 inhabitants (as Spanish Statistical National Institute) 2006. *1166 men and 1163 women.

Geography

*Altitude: 693 meters. *Latitude: 39° 46′ 59″ N *Longitude: 003° 28′ 59″ O

References

External links

Town Council Official Web Page.

Multimedia web of La Guardia, graphical file of the village (with hundreds of pictures and videos)

History of La Guardia in Guardiapedia

History of the Holly Child of La Guardia in Guardiapedia

Dictionary of La Guardia in Guardiapedia

History of the Holly Child of La Guardia in Guardiapedia
Municipalities in the Province of Toledo {{CastileLaMancha-geo-stub

Geography

History

Population

Geography

See also

References

External links