Offices for sale in Alcalá de Henares with parking

Information about Alcalá de Henares

History of Alcalá de Henares

The first records of Alcalá de Henares date back to the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze and Copper Ages. There are many sites on the left bank and hills of the River Henares, particularly in the Ecce Homo area, a pre-urban settlement on the top of San Juan del Viso hill, traditionally known as Iplacea. The town gradually became more Romanised in appearance: Complutum. It was an important town owing to its location on the Via Romana, connecting Tarraco (Tarragona) and Emérita Augusta (Mérida).

The town gradually spread downwards from the top of the hill to the valley below and adopted an orthogonal layout. The exact location of the town has been known since the 19th century, when the first archaeological digs were carried out.

From 711 AD Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula began, and around the middle of the 9th century the Alcalá la Vieja Al-Qalat-Nahar, Castle over the Henares was built, the origin of the name Alcalá de Henares.

In 1129 Alfonso VII donated the land of Alcalá to the Archbishopric of Toledo, who then became the lords of the land and built the Archbishop’s houses and the walls around the town. Both the monarchs of Castile and the Archbishops favoured Alcalá through fairs and privileges.

At the end of the Middle Ages, the former Complutum became one of the most important sites in the Castile Kingdom.

Famous characters of Alcalá de Henares

Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547. Moreover, many authors of the Golden Age were linked to Alcalá University either as students or professors. Antonio de Nebrija, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina and San Juan de la Cruz, among others.

Culture in Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 for the Historic Precinct and University of Alcalá de Henares, founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499.

Museums:

• Cervantes Birthplace Museum
• Casa de La Entrevista
• Open Air Sculptures Museum
• Complutum House of Hippolytus
• Regional Archaeology Museum
  

Restaurants in Alcalá de Henares

Some of the restaurants in Alcalá de Henares are as follows: Abrasador Casa Benito, Al-Ándalus, Ambigú, AN, Asador O’Donnell, Barataria, Cajón Sorpresa, El Fogón de Amós, El Pozo de los Sabores, Goya, La Casa Vieja, La Galatea, La Cúpula, La Mar Salada, Miguel de Cervantes, Rayuela, Sexto Sentido…