Loja, Granada

Loja (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈloxa]), formerly Loxa,[2] is a town in southern Spain, situated at the western limit of the province of Granada. It is surrounded by the so-called Sierra de Loja, of which the highest peak, Sierra Gorda, stands 1,671 metres above sea-level.

Loja
Municipality
Bell Tower of the Church of the Incarnation.
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Loja in the Province of Granada.
Loja
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 37°10′N 04°9′W
Country Spain
Autonomous community Andalusia
ProvinceGranada
ComarcaLoja
Judicial districtLoja
Founded9th century BC
Government
 • MayorFrancisco Joaquín Camacho Borrego (2011) (PP)
Area
 • Total454.7 km2 (175.6 sq mi)
Elevation
448 m (1,470 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total20,371
 • Density45/km2 (120/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Lojeños
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
18300
WebsiteOfficial website

Loja has sometimes been identified with the ancient Ilipula, or with the Lacibi (Lacibis) of Pliny and Ptolemy.[2] It is unknown when Loja was first captured by the Moors; most likely this happened in the 8th century. It first clearly emerges in the Arab chronicles of the year 890.[2] It was taken by Ferdinand III in 1226, but was soon afterwards abandoned.[2] Its Moorish name, Medina Lawša, was changed to Lauxa when it was captured by the Christians in 1486, during the Reconquista. Isabella I of Castile called it the "flower among thorns".

View of La Loja

Main sights

The town's Islamic heritage is still evident in the quarter of the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress of which most of the walls and towers remain.

Other sights include:

  • Convent of Santa Clara (16th century)
  • Convento of St. Francis of Assisi, including a 16th-century cloister
  • Church of the Incarnation (16th-17th centuries)
  • Church of San Gabriel (16th century)
  • Church of Santa Catalina (16th-17th century)
  • Church of N.tra S.ra Virgen de la Caridad (16th century)
  • Hermitages of Jesus Nazareno, san Roque, and Calvario, 16th century chapels and sanctuaries
  • Caseron de los Alcaides Cristianos (17th century)
  • Palacio de Narvaez (17th century)
  • Fuente de la Mora ("Fountain of the Moorish maiden"), also known as los venticinco canos, a fountain where waters from different springs are made to flow from twenty-five tubes.

Notes
  1. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Loja" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

References
  • Days in the Sun by Martin Andersen Nexo (1929)




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