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87-687: Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera, S.A. (formerly Hispano Carrocera, S.A. ), based in Zaragoza , Aragon , Spain , was one of the largest manufacturers of bus and coach cabins in Europe . It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the India -based Tata Motors . Tata Motors acquired control of the company in 2005, after purchasing a 21% stake in the company. In 2009, it acquired the remaining 79% from Investalia SA. Apart from their main plant in Zaragoza, Hispano had

174-661: A 21% stake in Hispano Carrocera SA,. In 2009, the Tata acquired the remaining 79% of in Hispano Carrocera for an undisclosed sum, making it a fully owned subsidiary, subsequently renamed Tata Hispano. In September 2013, Tata announced the closure of the Zaragoza factory. It said sales had fallen and that future prospects for its marketplace were poor. [REDACTED] Media related to Hispano buses at Wikimedia Commons Zaragoza On 1 January 2021,

261-474: A 6.7% did not answer. In 2017, there were 64,003 foreign citizens in Zaragoza, which represent 9.6% of the total population. From 2010 to 2017 immigration dropped from 87,735 to 64,003 people, a 27% drop. Romanians represent 29.8% of foreigners living in Zaragoza, or 2.9% of the total city population, followed by Moroccans (9.1%) and Chinese (7%). An Opel factory was opened in 1982 in Figueruelas ,

348-515: A keep. The arches of these structures already reflect its Christian structure, because they are slightly pointed and support flat wooden roofs. Its function in the 9th and 10th centuries was as a watchtower and defensive bastion. It was surrounded by a moat. It was later integrated by the Banu Hud family in the construction of the castle-palace of the Aljafería, constituting one of the towers of

435-593: A large area, and the schematisation and progressive abstraction of the yeserias of a vegetal nature, strongly influenced Almoravid and Almohad art in the Iberian Peninsula . The shift in decoration towards more geometric motifs is at the basis of Nasrid art. After the reconquest of Zaragoza in 1118 by Alfonso I of Aragón , it became the residence of the Christian kings of the Kingdom of Aragón . It

522-625: A network of buses which is controlled by the Urban Buses of Zaragoza (AUZSA). The network consists of 31 regular lines (two of them circle lines), two scheduled routes, six shuttle buses (one free), and seven night buses operating on Fridays, Saturdays and other festivities. Zaragoza also has an interurban bus network operated by Transport Consortium Zaragoza Area (CTAZ) that operates 17 regular lines. Zaragoza's bicycle lanes facilitate non-motorised travel and help cyclists to avoid running into pedestrians and motor vehicles. The city council also has

609-483: A notable center where yeshivas also incorporated the study of philosophy alongside Talmud studies . An outbreak of bubonic plague decimated the city in 1564. It reportedly killed about 10,000 people out of an estimated population of 25–30,000. In the context of the 1701–1714 War of Spanish Succession , the city rose in arms in favour of the Archduke Charles , who was proclaimed "King of Aragon" in

696-605: A number of children, leading to 250,000 people taking part in demonstrations in the city. Since 1982, the city has been home to a large factory built by General Motors for the production of Opel cars, some of which are exported to the United Kingdom and sold under the Vauxhall brand. The city took advantage of the entry of Spain into the European Communities (later European Union). Zaragoza lies in

783-508: A public bicycle-hire scheme, the bizi zaragoza , which has an annual charge. Aljafer%C3%ADa The Aljafería Palace ( Spanish : Palacio de la Aljafería ; Arabic : قصر الجعفرية , tr . Qaṣr al-Jaʿfariyah ) is a fortified medieval palace built during the second half of the 11th century in the Taifa of Zaragoza in Al-Andalus , present day Zaragoza , Aragon , Spain . It was

870-711: A second one in Casablanca , Morocco ; combined, they had a production capacity of 2,000 units in a year. Tata intended to keep the Moroccan plant open. Hispano bodied buses were built by TATA Motors in India at the ACGL plant in Goa . The bus was called Tata Divo. The company was founded in 1947 by D. Vincenzo Angelino Gervasio (an engineer of Neapolitan origin) and his wife Felisa Pueyo as Talleres Nápoles in Zaragoza, Spain. It

957-430: A small village nearby. The automotive industry is a main pillar of the regional economy along with Balay , which manufactures household appliances; CAF , which builds railway rolling stock for both the national and international markets; SAICA and Torraspapel in the stationery sector; and various other local companies, such as Pikolin , Lacasa , and Imaginarium SA . The city's economy benefited from projects like

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1044-606: A train from the former city to the Estación del Norte . The Madrid –Zaragoza line was opened a year and a half later, on 16 May 1863. The July 1936 coup d'état (with Gen. Miguel Cabanellas , Col. Monasterio  [ es ] , Urrutia  [ es ] , Sueiro  [ es ] , Major Cebollero and Gen. Gregorio de Benito  [ es ] at the centre of the Mola -led conspiration in Zaragoza) triumphed in

1131-560: Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The Fiestas del Pilar are among the most celebrated festivals in Spain. The Iberian town that preceded Roman colonisation was called Salduie or Salduba . The Romans and Greeks called the ancient city Caesaraugusta (in Greek Καισαραυγοῦστα ), from which derive the Arabic name سرقسطة Saraqusṭa (used during the Al-Andalus period),

1218-718: Is also home to the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program, a unique partnership between MIT, the Government of Aragon and the University of Zaragoza. There is a French international primary and secondary school, Lycée Français Molière de Saragosse . The city is connected by motorway with the main cities in central and northern Spain, including Madrid , Barcelona , Valencia , and Bilbao , all of which are located about 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Zaragoza. The city has

1305-633: Is common and there is sporadic snowfall . Fog can be persistent in late autumn and early winter. Zaragoza is administratively divided into 15 urban districts and 14 rural neighborhoods: The population, in thousands, can be seen here: According to a survey carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) in 2019 with a sample size of 300, 51.0% of the surveyed people described themselves as non-practising Catholic, 24.0% as practising Catholic, 6.7% as indifferent/non-believer, 5.0% as agnostic , 4.3% as atheist and 2.3% as "other religions", while

1392-399: Is connected to the courtyard by a portico of great multilobed arches. Again there is a tripartite space; the east and west ends extend perpendicularly with two lateral galleries that are accessed by wide polyhedral lobes and end in separate pointed, multilobed arches whose alfiz is decorated by complex lacing and arabesque reliefs. In addition, all the ornamentation of yeserias of the palace

1479-432: Is home to a Spanish Air and Space Force base, which was shared with the U.S. Air Force until 1992. In English, the base was known as Zaragoza Air Base . The Spanish Air Force maintained a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet wing at the base. No American flying wings (with the exception of a few KC-135s) were permanently based there, but it served as a training base for American fighter squadrons across Europe. It also hosts

1566-527: Is recalled in the quadrilobed design that shelters the shield of arms of the King of Aragon in the spandrels of the portal, from the first decade of the 15th century. The naves have a simple rib vault, lodged on pointed arches and bondstones , whereas the diagonals have a half-point. In the corners of the vaults are florets with the coat of arms of the Aragonese monarchy. Among the decorations, only fragments of

1653-528: Is reminiscent of the mihrab of the Mosque of Córdoba, only what were rich materials (mosaics and Byzantine bricklayers) in Zaragoza, with greater material poverty than the Caliphian Córdoba, are plaster stucco and polychrome, the latter having been mostly lost in the palace. An alfiz framed the back of the arch, with two mirrored rosettes recessed in curved triangles, like in the dome of the interior of

1740-516: The Almoravids in 1110. On 18 December 1118, Alfonso I of Aragon conquered the city from the Almoravids, and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon . The aforementioned monarch created a jurisdictional dominion in the city, which was gifted to Gaston of Béarn . The city remained a lordship up until the early 13th century. There was a Jewish community in medieval Zaragoza,

1827-636: The Duke of Orléans entering the city on 26 May 1707. As he seized control of the kingdom, he began to enact the series of institutional reforms known as the Nueva Planta , abolishing the Aragonese institutions in favour of the Castilian ones. The war turned around again in 1710 after the Battle of Almenar , and, following another Bourbon defeat near Zaragoza on 20 August 1710 , Archduke Charles returned to

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1914-638: The Expo 2008 , the official World's Fair, whose theme was water and sustainable development , held between 14 June and 14 September 2008, Plataforma Logística de Zaragoza (PLAZA), and the Parque Tecnológico de Reciclado (PTR). Furthermore, since December 2003, it has been a city through which the AVE high-speed rail travels. Currently, Zaragoza Airport is a major cargo hub in the Iberian Peninsula , behind only Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon. Zaragoza

2001-608: The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba and the Alhambra , are the three best examples of Hispano-Muslim architecture and have special legal protection. In 2001, the original restored structures of the Aljafería were included in the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon , a World Heritage Site . The style of ornamentation of the Aljafería, such as the use of mixtilinear arches and springers , the extension of arabesques over

2088-450: The N-II road , becoming Factorías Nápoles, S.A. , and begins to sell vehicles under its own brand, "Nazar" (an conflation of "Naples" and "Zaragoza"), in Spain and abroad. But in 1964, financial problems force the founder, Vicenzo Angelino, to leave the company, which changed its name again to Fabricaciones Industriales S.A. . In 1966, the company became part of Barreiros Diesel, S.A. , which

2175-632: The Sieges of Zaragoza of the Peninsular War , until it was finally restored in the 20th century. The palace was built outside Zaragoza's Roman walls, in the plain of the saría . With urban expansion over the centuries, it is now inside the city. The oldest component of the Aljafería is today known as the Troubadour Tower. The tower received this name from Antonio Garcia Gutierrez ’s 1836 romantic drama The Troubadour , based largely at

2262-555: The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas . There are many activities during the festival, from the massively attended pregon (opening speech) to the final fireworks display over the Ebro; they also include marching bands, dances such as jota aragonesa (the most popular folk music dance), a procession of gigantes y cabezudos , concerts, exhibitions, vaquillas , bullfights, fairground amusements, and fireworks. Some of

2349-727: The war economy , playing a key role for the Francoist faction as ammunition manufacturer. The General Military Academy , a higher training center of the Spanish Army , was re-established on 27 September 1940 by José Enrique Varela , the Francoist Minister of the Army. The 1953 Accords ensued with the installment of a joint US–Spain air base in Zaragoza . Following the declaration of Zaragoza as Polo de Desarrollo Industrial ("Pole for Industrial Development") by

2436-401: The 10th century. Its lower part has vestiges of the beginning of the heavy walls of alabaster ashlar bond masonry, and continues upwards with a plank lining of simple plaster and lime concrete , a lighter substance for reaching greater heights. The exterior does not reflect the division of the five internal floors and appears as an enormous prism, broken by narrow embrasures . Access to

2523-600: The 11th century stuccos and, with the construction of the palace of the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, the entire second floor, which broke the ends of the Taifal arches. In the current restoration, the original arabesques are darker than the reconstructed decorations in white, smooth plaster. The structure of the arches, however, remains undamaged. The decoration of the walls of the Golden Hall has disappeared for

2610-715: The 14th century with the efforts of Peter IV of Aragon "the Ceremonious". This king extended the palatial structures in 1336 and constructed the Chapel of San Martín in the entrance courtyard to the alcázar. In this time the Aljafería is documented as the start of the route to the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza , where the Aragonese monarchs were crowned and swore the Fueros of Aragon . The Chapel of San Martín incorporates

2697-529: The Atlantic and Mediterranean. The average annual precipitation is a scanty 322 millimetres (12.7 in) with abundant sunny days, and the rainiest seasons are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–November), with a relative drought in summer (July–August) and winter (December–March). Temperatures in summer are hot, and in winter a cold and dry wind blows from the northwest, the Cierzo . Night frost

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2784-473: The Caliphate period. These rooms were surrounded by a band of epigraphic decoration with Kufic characters reproducing Quran surahs that alluded to the symbolic meaning of the ornamentation. The surahs corresponding to these inscriptions have been deduced from the surviving fragments. In two of these calligraphic reliefs can be found the name of al-Muqtadir , which date the first phase of construction of

2871-578: The Pillar'). The Aragonese language , in decline for centuries and restricted mostly to northern Aragon, has recently attracted more people in the region. Thus, nowadays, in Zaragoza, up to 7,000 people speak Aragonese. The annual Fiestas del Pilar lasts for nine days, with its main day on 12 October. This date also coincides with Spain's national holiday, El Día de la Hispanidad (Day of Hispanicity), which celebrates Spain's cultural and historical ties with Hispanic America. October 12 also corresponds to

2958-607: The Spanish cities of Bilbao , Madrid , Valencia and Barcelona and the French cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse . The municipality has a surface of 973.78 km (375.98 sq mi), making it the ninth largest municipality in Spain. While the river banks are largely flat, the territory flanking them can display a rugged terrain, featuring muelas and escarpments. The surrounding elevations rise up to heights of about 600–750 metres above sea level. The locations near

3045-497: The Throne Room or Golden Hall and the small private mosque, located on the eastern side of the access portico that serves as an antechamber to the oratory . In its interior, it houses a mihrab in the southeast corner, oriented in the direction of Mecca , as in all mosques except the one of Córdoba. The floors of the royal rooms were marble with an alabaster plinth. The capitals were alabaster, except some that reused marble of

3132-511: The arches nearer the noble zones (Golden Hall and Mosque) tended to more closely follow the Córdoban tradition. Like the rest of the building, the courtyard was rebuilt in the 20th century based on archaeological finds. After the taking of Saragossa by Alfonso the Battler in 1118, the Aljafería was used as a palace of the kings of Aragon and as a church, not being substantially modified until

3219-666: The capital of the Upper March of al-Andalus . In 1018, amid the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba , Zaragoza became an independent Taifa of Zaragoza , initially controlled by the Tujibid family, then ruled by the Banu Hud from 1039. The taifa greatly prospered in a cultural and political sense in the late 11th century, and being later governed by Ahmad al-Muqtadir , Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud and Al-Musta'in II . It fell to

3306-443: The chamfered corners show the angles of the square structure. This gallery is the only one that preserves remains of the pictorial decoration of the 11th century, whose motifs were rescued by Francisco Íñiguez Almech when removing the liming that covered the walls after conversion to a chapel. The restorer painted over the traces of Islamic remains with acrylic paint, preventing the faded, original pigment from being seen. The dome of

3393-434: The city centre every day with dramatic sculptures, black-dressed praying women and hundreds of hooded people playing drums. It has been a Festival of International Tourist Interest since 2014. The University of Zaragoza is based in the city. As one of the oldest universities in Spain and a major research and development centre, this public university awards all the highest academic degrees in dozens of fields. Zaragoza

3480-863: The city on 29 June 1706, following the uprising of other parts of the Kingdom of Aragon in December 1705. Charles entered the city in July 1706, directing the attack on those places of Aragon that had sided with the Bourbon faction such as Borja or the Cinco Villas . Following the April 1707 battle at Almansa , the tide turned with the Austracist forces fleeing in disarray, and the Bourbon forces commanded by

3567-531: The city on the next day. This was for only a brief period, though, as following the entry of Philip V in Madrid and the ensuing Battle of Villaviciosa in December 1710, the Habsburg armies fled from Zaragoza in haste in December 1710 and Philip V proceeded to consolidate his rule over the kingdom of Aragon, resuming administrative reforms after a period of institutional void. An important food riot caused by

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3654-456: The city. After the military uprising in Africa on 17 July, the military command easily attained its objectives in Zaragoza in the early morning of 19 July, despite the city's status as stronghold of organised labour (mostly CNT anarcho-syndicalists but also UGT trade unionists), as the civil governor critically refused to give weapons to the people in time. Many refugees, including members of

3741-619: The confluence of the Ebro with the Huerva river , a modest right-bank tributary of the Ebro. The Huerva runs through the city buried for much of its lower course. Zaragoza is also located near the confluence of the Ebro with the Gállego , a more voluminous left-bank tributary born in the Pyrenees . Zaragoza has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ), as it lies in a wide basin entirely surrounded by mountains which block off moist air from

3828-565: The courtyard its original splendor, and for that a marble floor was arranged in the corridors that surround the orange and flower garden. The arcade that is seen looking towards the south portico was restored by molding the original arches in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid and in the Zaragoza Museum . According to Christian Ewert, who has studied the arches of the Aljafería for fifteen years,

3915-640: The defensive framework of the outside north wall. During the Spanish Reconquista , it continued being used as a keep and in 1486 became a dungeon of the Inquisition . As a tower-prison it was also used in the 18th and 19th centuries, as demonstrated by the numerous graffiti inscribed there by the inmates. The construction of the palace, mostly completed between 1065 and 1081, was ordered by Abú Ja'far Ahmad ibn Sulaymán al-Muqtadir Billah , known by his honorary title of al-Muqtadir (the powerful),

4002-425: The doorway survived the Peninsular War . Around the early 20th century it was rebuilt, and is now a functioning parish church. Despite the general decline of the last centuries of the Roman empire, Zaragoza suffered little. Capture by the Goths in the fifth century CE was without significant bloodshed or destruction. In the eighth century, following the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , Zaragoza became

4089-406: The dungeons of the Aljafería . Zaragoza suffered two famous sieges during the Peninsular War against the Napoleonic army: a first from June to August 1808; and a second from December 1808 to February 1809, surrendering only after some 50,000 defenders had died. Railway transport came to Zaragoza on 16 September 1861 with the inauguration of the Barcelona –Zaragoza line with the arrival of

4176-411: The eastern end of the entrance portico to the Golden Hall is a small mosque or private oratory that would have been used by the monarch and his courtiers. It is accessed through a portal that ends in a horseshoe arch inspired by the Mosque of Córdoba but with S-shaped springers, a novelty that imitated Almoravid and Nasrid art . This arch rests on two columns with capitals of very geometrical leaves, in

4263-405: The figure of the monarch. At the end of the 11th century, all the vegetal, geometric, and epigraphic reliefs were given polychrome decorations with predominately red and blue backgrounds and gold reliefs. Together with the soffits in alabaster with epigraphic decoration and the floors of white marble, it gave the whole a magnificent aspect. The various changes to the Aljafería have removed many of

4350-409: The high price of bread and other necessity goods took place in the city in April 1766, the so-called motín de los broqueleros , named after the repressive agents, volunteer farmers and craftsmen who wielded swords and bucklers ( broqueles ). The repression left about 300 wounded, 200 detainees and 8 deaths and it was followed by 17 public executions, and an indeterminate number of killings at

4437-422: The interior was through a small, elevated door that was only reachable with a portable ladder. Its initial function was military. The first level conserves the 9th-century building structure with two separate naves and six sections separated by two cruciform pillars and divided by lowered horseshoe arcs. In spite of their simplicity, they form a balanced space and could be used as baths. The second floor repeats

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4524-431: The main Spanish Army academy, Academia General Militar , a number of brigades at San Gregorio , and other garrisons. Christianity took root in Zaragoza at an early date. According to legend, St. Mary appeared miraculously to Saint James the Great in Zaragoza in the first century, standing on a pillar. This apparition is commemorated by a famous Catholic basilica called Nuestra Señora del Pilar ('Our Lady of

4611-549: The maximum of my wishes. And even though in my kingdom I had nothing else, for me you are everything I could wish for. The name Aljafería is first documented in a text by Al-Yazzar as-Saraqusti (active between 1085 and 1100) – which also gives the name of the architect of the Taifal palace, the Slav Al-Halifa Zuhayr – and another from Ibn 'Idhari of 1109, as a derivation from the pre-name of Al-Muqtadir, Abu Ya'far, and "Ya'far", "Al-Yafariyya", which evolved to "Aliafaria" and from there to "Aljafería". The general layout of

4698-403: The meanders of the Ebro feature some sinkholes formed upon the subsidence of the gypsum -rich soil, that can form ponds fed from irrigation water. There is also an instance of seasonal endorheic lagoon, la Sulfúrica , in the moors located in the southern part of the municipality. The Roman core of Caesaraugusta was founded on the right bank of the Ebro, with the north-east corner limiting

4785-428: The medieval Çaragoça , and the modern Zaragoza . The Sedetani , a tribe of ancient Iberians , populated a village called Salduie  [ es ] ( Salduba in Roman sources). Augustus founded the city as Caesaraugusta between 25 BC and 11 BC as a colony to settle army veterans from the Cantabrian wars . As a Roman city, it had all the typical public buildings: forum , baths , theatre , and

4872-399: The mihrab. The rest of the walls of the mosque are decorated with blind mixtilineal arches linked and decorated on the surface with vegetable arabesques inspired by the Caliph. These arches lean on columns topped with slender basket capitals. Square marble slabs cover the bottom of the walls. All this is topped with interlocking polyblocked arches, which are not all blind, because those in

4959-467: The mosque was not preserved, because the palace of the Catholic Monarchs was built at that level. However, the characteristic octagonal plan suggests that it would have looked like existing ones in the maqsurah of the mosque of Córdoba, a dome of interlaced semicircular arches forming an octagon in the center. Francisco Íñiguez created a detachable plaster dome. In 2006, Bernabé Cabañero Subiza, C. Lasa Gracia, and J. L. Mateo Lázaro postulated that "the ribs of

5046-527: The most important events are the Ofrenda de Flores , or Flower Offering to St. Mary of the Pillar, on 12 October, when an enormous surface resembling a cloak for St. Mary is covered with flowers, and the Ofrenda de Frutos on 13 October, when all the autonomous communities of Spain offer their typical regional dishes to St. Mary and donate them to soup kitchens. Holy Week in Zaragoza , although not as elaborate an affair as its Andalusian or Bajo Aragón counterparts, has several processions passing through

5133-402: The most part, although remains are preserved in the Zaragoza Museum and in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid . Francisco Íñiguez began its restoration, restoring the decorations that existed in its places of origin and extracting complete casts of the arcades of the south portico. Along the north wall is the most important complex of buildings built in the Banu Hud period, including

5220-427: The north and south ends are the porticos and living quarters. The north end was more important, as it was endowed with a second floor and greater depth, and was preceded by an open and profusely decorated column wall that stretched across two pavilions on its flanks and served as a theatrical porch to the throne room (the "golden hall" of the verses of Al-Muqtadir). It produced a set of architectural spaces, beginning with

5307-417: The north-east of the Iberian Peninsula , in the rather arid depression formed by the valley of the Ebro . The Ebro cuts across the city in a west north-west by east south-east direction, entering the municipality at 205 metres above sea level and exiting the municipality at a level of 180 metres above sea level. The city enjoys a beneficial location at the geographical centre of the rough hexagon formed by

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5394-423: The northern and southern ends, the palace living quarters. The Aljafería follows this model, with the section for the nobility in the central segment of the square, although the alignment of the sides of this plan is irregular. It is the central rectangle that houses the palatial buildings, organized around a courtyard with cisterns in front of the north and south porticos containing the royal rooms and saloons. At

5481-488: The northern wall of the interior of the Golden Hall was a blind arch – where the king stood – with a traditional geometric pattern imitating the latticework of the mihrab façade of the Mosque of Córdoba , the building which it sought to emulate. In this way, from the courtyard, it appeared half-hidden by the columns of both the archway leading to the Golden Hall and those of the immediate portico, which gave an appearance of latticework and an illusion of depth, lending splendor to

5568-428: The palace follows the archetype of desert castles in Syria and Jordan from the first half of the 8th century (such as Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi , Msatta , Khirbat al-Mafjar , and, from the early Abbasid era, the al-Ukhaidir Fortress ). These castles were square with ultrasemicircular towers and a central tripartite space, creating three rectangular spaces, with the central one having a courtyard with pools and, at

5655-401: The palace to between 1065 and 1080. They say "This [the Aljafería] was ordered by Ahmed al-Muqtadir Billáh". The Golden Hall had at its east and west ends two private bedrooms, possibly for royal use. Today the bedroom on the western flank has been lost, but it was used as a royal bedroom and also used by the Aragonese kings until the 14th century. Most of the arabesque yeserias that covered

5742-414: The palace. This drama became the libretto for Giuseppe Verdi ’s opera Il trovatore . The tower is a defensive structure, with a quadrangular base and five levels which date back to the end of the 9th century, in the reign of the first Banu Tujib , Muhammad Alanqur , who was appointed by Muhammad I of Córdoba , Emir of Córdoba . According to Cabañero Subiza, the tower was built in the second half of

5829-409: The perpendicular corridors of the ends emphasized by the height of the second floor, and ended with the Troubadour Tower looming in the background from the perspective of a spectator in the courtyard. All this, reflected also in the cistern, enhanced the royal area, which is corroborated by the presence at the eastern end of the northern border of a small private mosque with a mihrab . In the center of

5916-403: The pictorial covering and some mixtilineal arches are preserved that were directly inspired in the Muslim palace. The brick Mudéjar portal, built in the time of Martin of Aragon "the Humane", stands out in the last section of the south nave. This portal is framed by a recessed carpanel arch inside a larger pointed arch. Framing both, a double alfiz is decorated in a checkered pattern. In

6003-537: The population of the municipality of Zaragoza was 675,301, (as of 2023, the fourth or fifth most populous in Spain) on a land area of 973.78 square kilometres (375.98 square miles). It is the 26th most populous municipality in the European Union . The population of the metropolitan area was estimated in 2006 at 783,763 inhabitants. The municipality is home to more than 50 percent of the Aragonese population. The city lies at an elevation of about 208 metres (682 feet) above sea level . Zaragoza hosted Expo 2008 in

6090-455: The power exercised over the celestial universe by the monarch of Saragossa, who thus appeared as heir to the caliphs. Access to the Golden Hall is through a wall with three openings. The very large central opening consists of five double marble columns with stylized Islamic alabaster capitals that support four mixtilinear arches, between which are other simpler horseshoe shapes. Towards the south, another structure of similar size, but shallower,

6177-495: The provincial committees of parties and unions, fled to Caspe , the capital of the territory of Aragon, which was still controlled by the Republic. The rearguard violence committed by the putschists, with at least 12 murders on 19 July, would only go in crescendo along the beginning of the conflict. Thus one of the two big cities under Rebel control since the early stages of the Spanish Civil War along Seville , Zaragoza profited from an increasing industrial production vis-à-vis

6264-522: The regime in 1964, the city doubled in population in a short time. The increase in population ran parallel to the rural flight and depopulation in the rest of Aragon. In 1979, a fire at the Hotel Corona de Aragón fire killed at least 80 people, including members of the family of Francisco Franco. The armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization ETA carried out the Zaragoza barracks bombing in 1987 which killed eleven people, including

6351-531: The residence of the Banu Hud dynasty during the era of Abu Jaffar Al-Muqtadir . The palace reflects the splendor attained by the Taifa of Zaragoza at its height. It currently houses the Cortes (regional parliament) of the autonomous community of Aragon. The structure is the only conserved large example of Spanish Islamic architecture from the era of the taifas (independent kingdoms). The Aljafería, along with

6438-517: The same spatial scheme as the first and contains the remains of 11th century Muslim masonry. There is evidence that in the 14th century something similar happened to the appearance of the last two floors, of Mudéjar style, whose construction was due to the construction of the palace of Peter IV of Aragon , which is connected with the Tower of the Troubadour by a corridor, and would have been used as

6525-456: The same tripartite composition as exists in the north side, and of which only the arcades of access of mixtilineal arches of geometric decoration remains. This area has some of the most ornate arches. The complexity of lacing, arabesques, and carvings has a Baroque look, and is a prelude to the filigree art of the Alhambra. The Courtyard of Santa Isabel is an open, landscaped space that unified

6612-563: The second monarch of the Banu Hud dynasty, as a symbol of the power achieved by the Taifa of Zaragoza in the second half of the 11th century. The Emir himself called his palace "Qasr al-Surur" (Palace of Joy) and the throne room in which he presided over receptions and embassies "Maylis al-Dahab" (Golden Hall) as is testified in the following verses written by the Emir: Oh Palace of Joy!, Oh Golden Hall! Because of you, I reached

6699-403: The sides of the northwest corner of the wall, to the point that one of its towers was used as sacristy and gave its name to the courtyard that gives access to the Taifal enclosure. The structure, of Gothic - Mudéjar style, consists of two naves of three sections each, facing to the east and supported by two pillars with semicolumns attached in the middle of the faces of the pillar, whose section

6786-601: The style of Granadan art using mocárabe . Its alfiz is profusely ornamented with vegetal decoration and on it is arranged a frieze of crossing half-point arcs. The interior of the oratory is a smaller square space with chamfered corners that turn it into a false octagonal plan. In the southeast sector, oriented towards Mecca, is the niche of the mihrab. The front of the mihrab is shaped by a traditional horseshoe arch, with Cordoban shapes and alternating voussoir blocks, some of which are decorated with vegetal reliefs and others are smooth (although originally they were painted). The arch

6873-659: The summer of 2008, a world's fair on water and sustainable development. It was also a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2012. The city is famous for its folklore, local cuisine, and landmarks such as the Basílica del Pilar , La Seo Cathedral and the Aljafería Palace . Together with La Seo and the Aljafería , several other buildings form part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon which

6960-403: The vault [...] should have the section of horseshoe arches forming an eight-pointed star pattern with a dome agglomerated in the center, like those in the two domes of the transept of the Mosque of Córdoba." The south portico consists of an arcade on its southern flank that gives access to a portico with two lateral stays. This portico was the vestibule of a great south hall that would have had

7047-422: The walls, as well as an alabaster base two and a half metres high and the white marble floors of the original palace, have been lost. The remains that have been preserved, both in museums and the few that are in the royal hall, nevertheless allow a reconstruction of the ornate, polychrome decoration. Ceilings and wood carvings reproduced the sky, and the whole room was an image of the cosmos, clothed with symbols of

7134-483: The whole Taifal palace. The north and south porticos faced it, and there were probably rooms and outbuildings to the east and west. Its name comes from the birth in the Aljafería of the Infanta Elizabeth of Aragon , who was in 1282 queen of Portugal. The original pool to the south has been conserved, whereas the one to the north was covered with a wood floor in the 14th century. The restoration tried to give

7221-593: Was an important economic centre. Many Roman ruins can still be seen in Zaragoza today. It is thought it might have been the Apostle James who had built a chapel on the site of the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar . On the spot where Saint Engratia and her companions were said to have been martyred on Valerian's orders was the Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza . Only the crypt and

7308-532: Was in turn purchased by Chrysler in 1969, forming Chrysler España, S.A. . The bus and bodywork part of Chrysler España was then sold to Van Hool España, S.A. in 1971, which was later renamed to Hispano Carrocera, S.A.L. in 1983. The company manufactured Van Hool buses under license until developing the Hispano Carrocera brand in the late 1980s. In 2005, sensing an opportunity in the fully built bus segment, Tata Motors from Mumbai acquired

7395-439: Was originally devoted to repairs, welding and metalwork on post-war trucks, but the company also developed its own design for a "unique truck cabin", which could be mounted on any chassis, and which was very successful. This success allowed the company to expand and move to a 3,000 m2 workshop, where it built its first bus in 1958 and its first double-decker bus in 1960. In 1962, the company moved again to newly built installations on

7482-473: Was polychrome in shades of blue and red in the back and gold in the arabesques. Among the filigrees is the representation of a bird, an unusual zoomorphic figure in Islamic art that could represent a pigeon, a pheasant, or a symbol of the king as winged being. The characteristic interlocking mixtilinear arches are found for the first time in the Aljafería, from where they spread to other Islamic structures. At

7569-511: Was used as a royal residence by Peter IV of Aragón (1319–1387) and, in 1492, it was converted into the palace of the Catholic Monarchs . In 1593 it underwent another restructuring that would turn it into a military fortress, first according to Renaissance designs (which today can be seen in its surroundings, moat , and gardens) and later for quartering military regiments. It underwent further restructuring and damage, especially with

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