Spain's city of Toledo astounds with its history and culture

Feb 16, 2010, 12:15 GMT

Toledo, Spain - Most people who come to Toledo are on the trail of the great artist El Greco. He was born on the island of Crete in 1541, had the birth name of Dominikos Theotokopoulos and spent 37 years creating works of art in this provincial Spanish capital until he died in 1614. The Church of Santo Tome houses his masterpiece 'The Burial of Count Orgaz.'

'El Greco was very significant but one should not ignore the other sights Toledo has to offer,' says Pedro Pantoja, a historian at the city's university. 'Toledo was an important European city as early as the 13th century and was known as a centre of scientific study, philosophy and writing.' For example, important Hebrew and Arabic texts were translated into Latin in Toledo.

Toledo is known in Spain as the City of Three Cultures as it was here that Christianity, Judaism and Islam encountered each other in the Middle Ages in an atmosphere of tolerance. When the Christians broke 300 years of Muslim rule in 1085, Alfonse VI decided to leave the city's mosque untouched. Other political forces consecrated the building as a Christian church during his absence. That development was accepted by Muslim clerics and thus an escalation of conflict was avoided.

Today, an imposing five-aisle cathedral with a 90-metre-high spire stands on the mosque's site. It was constructed between 1227 and 1493. 'It was once the richest church in the country,' explains tour guide Pablo Molina, and its treasury contains the largest monstrance in Spain, which was made by the Cologne goldsmith Enrique de Arge between 1517 and 1524.

The cathedral also contains works by El Greco and his apostle series of paintings, as well as the 'The Disrobing of Christ', hang in the sacristy. The impressive works 'John the Evangelist' and 'James the Baptist' are in the church of Santo Domingo El Antiguo where El Greco's body is buried. More than 20 works, including the famous 'View of Toledo,' can be found in the Jewish quarter in El Greco's house, which is today a museum.

Toledo has long been a home to people of the Jewish faith. When the Moors ruled the Iberian Peninsula, Jews acted as intermediaries between them and the Christians. They lived openly and enriched the intellectual and cultural life of the peninsula. In Toledo two synagogue buildings dating from the Middle Ages testify to that influence: Santo Maria la Blanca, which is a museum and Synagogue del Transito, which houses a museum to Judaism in Spain.

At the end of the 14th century a series of pogroms disrupted the Jewish community and 100 years later King Ferdinand and his wife Isabella destroyed the religion completely. They persecuted both Jews and Muslims who did not convert to Christianity, driving them out of Spain.

'You must discover old Toledo on foot. Only then will you see the true character of this imperial city,' advises the historian Pantoja. He begins a walk on the banks of the River Tajo, which is traversed by the 200-metre-long Alcantara Bridge. It is regarded as one of the most important ancient Roman bridges still standing.

Watching over the city is the Alcazar, the palace that once housed Muslim and Christian rulers. For hundreds of years Spain's monarchs lived here before Philipp II decided to move the capital to Madrid in 1561.

However, Toledo remained the centre of power for Spain's Catholic church. 'Nowhere else in Spain is it possible to find so many monasteries, monks and nuns ? it's almost as if the city is entirely made up of cloisters and churches,' wrote the Polish Crown Prince Jacob Sobieski (1667-1737) after visiting Toledo.

Spain's national poet Miguel Cervantes (1547-1616) described the city as an 'oppressive rock' and it has preserved its serious, strict and shuttered character to this day. Part of that is due to its narrow alleys and lanes that are too small for cars. Sometimes it is not easy to walk along them when you encounter a group of tourists.

Thanks to a rapid rail service Toledo is practically a suburb of Madrid. The journey takes just 30 minutes and a ticket costs the equivalent of 14 dollars. That explains why the city of 77,000 people receives so many daytrippers. One of the attractions upon arrival is the railway station which was built in the Mudejar style which Christians copied from the Muslims and developed into a high art.