TOLEDO, the capital of the above province, and once of the whole of Spain, stands on a rocky eminence washed on three sides by the Tagus, 37 miles W.S.W. of Madrid. The Tagus is spanned by two fine stone bridges, the Alcántara, a Moorish one of a single arch, giving entrance to the town from the east; the other, that of San Martín, from the west; while between them the river makes a bend to the southward. The town is enclosed by two walls, the inner built by King Wamba in the seventh century, and the outer by Alfonso VI. in 1109. Both are pierced by numerous gates, some of which are very handsome. The appearance of Toledo from a distance is splendid and imposing; but a nearer approach shows it to be a dull, decaying place, having palaces without nobles, churches without worshippers, and streets without passengers or traffic. The houses are large and massive, generally in the Moorish style, and three
or four stories high; and the streets are narrow, steep, and crooked. The principal public square in Toledo is called the Zocodover, or square market; it is planted with trees, and forms a favourite promenade. From it to the cathedral stretches a long and tolerably broad street, the best in the town. The cathedral was built on the site of a former mosque, and completed in 1492. Its exterior is neither beautiful nor regular; it has two towers, only one of which is finished, rising to the height of 325 feet. The interior is fine, though somewhat low, and stripped of many of its former rich decorations. It is 404 feet long, by 204 broad, and divided by 84 pillars into five lateral naves; the central one, which is the loftiest, containing the choir, richly adorned with sculpture, on the one side by Vigarny, and on the other by Berrugnette. Near the cathedral is the palace of the archbishop, which contains a large and valuable library. Among the archbishops of this see have been many celebrated men, such as Fonseca, Mendoza, and Ximenes; and the chapter at one time included nearly 100 dignitaries. Besides the cathedral, Toledo once contained 20 parish churches, 6 other churches, 9 chapels, 14 convents, 23 nunneries, and 10 hospitals. Many of these have been destroyed; but some still remain, affording beautiful specimens both of the Gothic and of the Saracenic architecture. Of the former, one of the finest is that of San Juan de los Reyes; and of the latter, La Iglesia del Transito, which was formerly a Jewish synagogue. The alcazar, or palace, is one of the most conspicuous features of Toledo. It stands in a commanding position on a rock, and was originally built by King Wamba, but altered and rebuilt many times, until the time of the Emperor Charles V., who built it almost entirely anew. It is now in a very dilapidated condition, but still preserves traces of its former magnificence, and commands a fine view from the top. The ancient university of Toledo has been reduced to a secondary school; and the celebrated manufactory of sword-blades, though still existing in its old building outside the town, and producing blades as perfect as ever, has dwindled greatly, and now employs only 70 or 80 hands. The town has numerous elementary schools, a public library, museum, theatre, town-hall, hospitals, &c. Besides swords, coarse cloth, paper, leather, and guitar-strings are made here. Toledo existed in the time of the Romans, who conquered it in 193 B.C., and found it a small town but strongly situated. They strengthened the fortifications, and built an aqueduct to supply the place with water. By the Goths, who captured Toledo in 467 A.D., these works were kept up and improved; and under the Moors, who possessed it from 714 to 1085, it was an important city, second only to their capital, Cordova. Alfonso VI. of Castile and Leon recovered it from the Moors; and under him and his successors it continued to be a flourishing town, till the permanent establishment of the court at Madrid gave a final blow to its prosperity. The population, which once amounted to 200,000, was in 1857 no more than 15,797.