Torrejón de Ardoz

Etymology

Torrejón comes from torre ("tower"); the suffix -jón is a diminutive that ultimately makes reference to the small or unimportant nature of the noun. The Ardoz add-on comes from the namesake creek.

History

While there is no certainty of the origin of Torrejón de Ardoz, it probably dates from the 12th century, associated to fortifications built to protect Alcalá de Henares. It was part of the Land of Alcalá for all purposes until 1554, when it was granted the status of town.

In the 16th century, the Casa Grande was built, where several Spanish princes stayed while studying at the University of Alcala.

In 1843 it was the place of a short battle between general Ramón Narvaez and senator Antonio Seoane, as part of the rebellion against Espartero.

The United States Air Force jointly occupied the Torrejón Air Base, installed in 1955, under agreements made with Francisco Franco. The base was subject of criticism since its beginnings and a meeting place of pacifist demonstrations attended by progressives and ecologists.

One of the election platforms of Felipe González's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was to close the base to the American fighter wing. Once González became prime minister, the lease of the then 401st Tactical Fighter Wing (now the 401st Air Expeditionary Group) was not renewed and the F-16 fighter wing left the base in the early 1990s.

At the end of the 20th century, the city experienced strong industrial growth, which attracted thousands of workers. This led to rapid urban growth.

Geography

Location

It is located to the east of the city of Madrid, near the A-2, the highway connecting Madrid and Barcelona. With the city located at the right-bank (north) of the Henares the relief of the municipality gently decreases in elevation from north to south.

Three small creeks pass through the municipality emptying into the Henares. From West to East: Arroyo del Valle, Arroyo Pelayo, and Arroyo Ardoz.

The highest point lies in the North of the municipality, standing at 623 m above sea level.

The municipality has a total area of 32.49 km2.

Climate

Torrejón de Ardoz has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk) with cool winters, hot summers and precipitation concentrated in the autumn and spring seasons. As in other parts of the east and south of the Community of Madrid, the aridity is notable. Snow, although rare, can occur in some winters.

| Jan record high C = 21.5 | Feb record high C = 24.2 | Mar record high C = 28.2 | Apr record high C = 31.7 | May record high C = 36.9 | Jun record high C = 41.9 | Jul record high C = 42.4 | Aug record high C = 42.8 | Sep record high C = 40.0 | Oct record high C = 32.6 | Nov record high C = 25.0 | Dec record high C = 20.5 | year record high C = | Jan record low C = -13.7 | Feb record low C = -13.8 | Mar record low C = -7.4 | Apr record low C = -3.2 | May record low C = -1.0 | Jun record low C = 4.5 | Jul record low C = 6.6 | Aug record low C = 6.8 | Sep record low C = 3.6 | Oct record low C = -2.0 | Nov record low C = -6.6 | Dec record low C = -10.2 | year record low C =

Industry

The city has had industrial facilities from large companies such as Indra, Alcatel, La Cocinera and Amazon. This growth occurred mainly at the end of the twentieth century, with a sharp decline in the twenty-first century. The city still has 3 industrial estates: Casablanca, Charco de los Peces and Las Monjas. The industrial estate of San Fernando is linked to the municipality of Torrejón de Ardoz.

Commercial

There are 2 large shopping malls in the municipality: Parque Corredor and the recently opened Oasiz Mall. The commercial development of recent years has compensated for the fall in jobs produced in the industrial sector.

Transports

The city is connected to Madrid by the A-2 motorway, and by rail through the C2-C7 Cercanías lines. There are multiple bus lines connecting Torrejón de Ardoz with Alcalá de Henares (824), with Madrid (224 and 226) and with the nearby towns: Ajalvir, Loeches, San Fernando de Henares, Torres de la Alameda and Daganzo.

Main sights

• Casa Grande
• Parque Europa
• Church of San Juan Bautista
• Aldovea´s Castle

Sports

The city has 4 large sports facilities: Joaquin Blume, Parque Corredor, M-4 and Las Fronteras. The city has an important futsal team, Inter FS, and it had a famous futsal team, Marsanz FS.

Education

• Torrejon High School

Famous people from Torrejón de Ardoz

;Artists

• El Chojin, rapper
• Pilar Rubio, television presenter ;Military personnel
• Frederick M. Padilla, U.S. Marine major general ;Politicians
• Kate Brown, governor of Oregon
• Glenn Thomas Jacobs, Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee ;Sportpeople
• David Andújar, footballer
• Wallace Bryant, basketball player
• Jorge Garbajosa, basketball player
• Guti, footballer
• Antonio Guzmán Núñez, footballer
• Kane, wrestler
• Sergio Mora, footballer
• Mario Rivillos Plaza, futsal player
• Manuel Romero, footballer ;Crime
• Patrick Nogueira, murderer. Lived with his uncle, aunt and cousins before his family moved to Pioz.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography

References

1. es
2. es
3. "Valores Climatologicos normales". AEMET.
4. "AEMET OpenData". Aemet.es.