Duke of Gor


Duke of Gor is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, and granted in 1803 by Charles IV to Nicolás Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques, 12th Lord of Gor, 6th Marquess of Trujillos, 5th Count of Torrepalma and field marshal of the Royal Spanish Armies.
Nicolás Mauricio was son of Alonso Diego Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Verdugo, 11th Lord of Gor, 5th Marquess of Trujillos, 4th Count of Torrepalma, and of María Fausta Vélez Ladrón de Guevara y Enríquez, Countess of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez.
The title's name refers to the town of Gor in the province of Granada.

List of Dukes de Gor

History of the Dukes of Gor

  • I Duke: Nicolás Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Vélez Ladrón de Guevara, I Duke of Gor, VI Marquess of the Trujillos, V, Count of Torrepalma, VII Count of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez, was Marshal of the king.
He married first, María Teresa Péerez de Barradas y Fernández de Henestrosa, with whom he had no male succession, and secondly with María del Carmen Chacón y Carrillo de Albornoz Medrano y Jácome de Linden.
Duchess María del Carmen Chacón de Medrano was the daughter of Francisco Chacón-Manrique de Lara Medrano, who in turn was the son of Manuela Tomasa de Medrano y Angulo, daughter of Andrés de Medrano y Mendizábal, II Count of Torrubia, son of García de Medrano y Alvarez de los Ríos, regent of the Kingdom of Navarre and Seville in the 17th century. The Duchess was born in Seville on 17 July 1772, and died in Madrid on 2 May 1860, belonging to –by her paternal father Francisco Chacón-Manrique de Lara Medrano – a branch of the Counts of Mollina, and by her maternal mother María del Carmen Carrillo de Albornoz Jacome de Linden to the ducal of Montemar. From his second marriage, he had a son:
  • II Duke: Mariano Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Chacón Carrillo de Albornoz y Guevara
II Duke of Gor, VII Marquess of Trujillos, VI count of Torrepalma, VIII count of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez, viscount of Caparacena, and of Abusejo. He married María de la O Jacoba Guiráldez y Cañas, VIII Viscountess of Valoria, daughter of Jaime Guiráldez y Mendoza.
By way of this marriage all the domains and possessions of the Valoria family, including the castle of Olmillos de Sasamón, province of Burgos, and all their fiefs were incorporated into the duchy of Gor. She was born in Valladolid on 16 December 1797, and died on 14 April 1867. His wife was the daughter of Jaime Giráldez Mendoza, and María de Cañas Portocarrero, and VI Countess of Lérida and VII Viscountess of Valoria. They had ten children: 1st Mauricio, future III Duke of Gor and IX Viscount of Valoria, 2nd María del Carmen, I Marchioness of Santa Isabel, 3rd María Josefa, married to José Casimiro de Villena, XI Marquis of Rafal, 4th María Luisa married to José Alvarez de las Asturias Bohórquez, XVII Marquis of Mondéjar, 5th Nicolás married to María de la Consolación Ponce de León Balleras, VII Count of Lérida, 6th Jacoba, VIII Marchioness of los Trujillos, 7th Encarnación, 8th María Rosario, 9th José, VII Count of Torrepalma, and 10th Jaime, Count of Canillas de los Torneros. His son succeeded him:
  • III Duke: Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Guiráldez
III Duke of Gor, the firstborn son of Mauricio Nicolás Álvarez de Bohórquez Chacón, II Duke of Gor, and María de la O Guiráldez de Cañas. He inherited all the noble titles that belonged to his father: III Duke of Gor, VIII Marquis of los Trujillos, VIII Marquis of Mayo, VIII Count of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez, VIII Count of Torrepalma, and Grandee of Spain of the first class. From his mother, he inherited the title of IX Viscount of Valoria. He also held the rank of Field Marshal. He died unmarried in Bordeaux on 13 October 1877, so all his titles were inherited by his nephew Mauricio Álvarez de Bohórquez Ponce de León, except for the title of the Viscountcy of Valoria, which passed to his niece María del Rosario. His son succeeded him:
IV Duke of Gor, He was born in Jerez de la Frontera on 4 November 1864. Son of Nicolás Álvarez de Bohórquez Guiráldez de Cañas, VII Count of Lérida, and María Consolación Ponce de León Balleras, who came from the house of the Marquises of Castillo del Valle. Upon the death of his paternal uncle Mauricio Álvarez de Bohórquez Giráldez de Cañas, III Duke of Gor, who had no direct descendants, he inherited the majority of his noble titles: IV Duke of Gor, IX Marquis of los Trujillos, IX Marquis of Mayo, IX Count of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez, IX Count of Torrepalma, and Grandee of Spain of the first class. He married in Zarauz on 22 September 1892, to Rosa de Goyeneche y de la Puente, and their children from this marriage are: Mauricio, José, María, Nicolás, and Rosa. The eldest, Mauricio, succeeded him in the title of Duke of Gor. His son succeeded him:
  • V Duke: Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Goyeneche
V Duke of Gor, XI Count of Canillas de los Torneros de Enríquez.
He married Beatriz de Silva y Mitjans, daughter of Jaime de Silva y Campbell, XV Duke of Lécera and XI Duke of Bournonville. His son succeeded him:
  • VI Duke: Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Silva
VI Duke of Gor, Viscount of Caparacena.
He married Isabel Álvarez de Toledo y Urquijo, daughter of Alonso Álvarez de Toledo y Cabeza de Vaca, XI Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza, XI Viscount of the Armeria.

Additional History of the Dukes of Gor

The Duchy of Gor has owned numerous lands and properties in the city of Granada since the 16th century. These include the house on Plaza de los Girones, the church and school of the Escolapios, and the Moorish Alcazar Genil, which was known for many years as the "Huertas de los Duques de Gor." Gor and Gorafe, the main towns of the Dukedom farming lands, are located within the province of Granada, and their castles have been labelled by the Junta de Andalucia as B.I.C. since June 1985.
The Dukes of Gor developed the most in Granada; here they settled, building their own palace-house, equipped with a library, the envy of the city; in Granada they founded an Honorary Family Patronage of the Piarist Schools in buildings of their own ; also, in this city of lush gardens where the murmur of clear water flowing from fountains is lost among the exotic colors of the water lilies in the pond bordered by myrtles, here they had the privilege of being the owners until recent times of the Queen's Garden, very famous among the people of Granada, with its palace of Nasrid architecture known by the name of Alcázar Genil or the palace of Abu Said, a National Monument from the 13th century.
During the rule of the II Duke of Gor, Mariano Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Chacón Carrillo de Albornoz Medrano y Guevara, tithes were abolished in Spain, and nobles who formerly received those tithes were compensated by the Crown. For the duke of Gor, the 1859 compensation amounted to 2.1 million reales, a significant part of the duke's total liquid capital of 2.9 million reales. The II Duke of Gor obtained all the domains and possessions of the Valoria family, including the castle of Olmillos de Sasamón, province of Burgos, and all their fiefs were incorporated into the duchy of Gor.
His son succeeded him:
The III Duke of Gor served on a diplomatic mission to Saint Petersburg and was accompanied by a young Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano, who "poke gentle fun at the duke" in his Cartas desde Rusia.
His son succeeded him:
Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Ponce de León, the 4th Duke of Gor, was the first Spanish athlete to participate in the Olympic Games. He competed in fencing events, including epee, sabre, and foil, at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. Mauricio Álvarez's son, José, was also an Olympic athlete, participating in various equestrian events at the 1924 Paris Olympics and the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. He even won a gold medal in the team jumping event at the latter Games.

Alcazar Genil

The Alcazar Genil in the Islamic era belonged to Boabdil's mother, listed among the assets sold by her to the Catholic Monarchs, later becoming the property of the Dukes of Gor. The Alcazar was part of a large orchard that extended from the College of the Piarist Fathers to the last buildings of the current Jardín de la Reina Urbanization, that is, quite a few thousand square meters at a key point in the city. The expansion of the city in this area eliminated the lushness of this orchard. Entering through the road of Armilla, at a very short distance, a leafy orchard called Jardín de la Reina appears, where there was an Islamic palace called Alcázar de Xenil, owned by the Moorish Queens, from whom it passed to the Catholic Monarchs, and its current owner, the Duke of Gor, preserves it with commendable appreciation.
This Moorish building features a small room decorated with extraordinary sumptuousness and exquisite taste, undoubtedly in the times of Yusuf I of Granada. Among the ornamentation of the walls, some inscriptions stand out, of which the most important is written on two friezes that surround the room, with gallant cursive and kufic characters: "Glory to our lord the Sultan.- He whose words are beautiful and whose features of generosity are full of glory.- The fair and fearless king"; also, there is the "Only Allah is the victor" and the following one above the twin arches of the alcoves that open in the side walls: "Oh, my hope... seal my works with goodness." At the top of the room, there are twenty arches through which light enters, and above them, the wide cornice of mocárabes stands out, supporting the lattice coffered ceiling. A short distance in front of the tower, there is a colossal pond, which measures 121.40 meters by 28, at whose end, foundations and the underground part of an extensive nave still exist with its corresponding porch, from which they would enjoy the beautiful view of the pool full of water and the naval games that they say took place in it. But to the east, another Moorish pond of circular shape is preserved.