Loja, Granada


Loja, formerly Loxa, is a town in southern Spain, situated at the western limit of the province of Granada. It is in the valley of the River Genil, overlooked by the so-called Sierra de Loja, of which the highest peak, Sierra Gorda, stands 1,671 metres above sea-level.
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History

Loja has sometimes been identified with the ancient Ilipula, or with the Lacibi of Pliny and Ptolemy. 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. Back then, it was also likely to be named as Lūsha.

Reconquista

It was taken by Ferdinand III of Castile in 1226, but was soon afterwards abandoned.
As part of the Granada War, Loja was attacked in 1486 by Christian forces under Ferdinand and Isabella. These soldiers included some Englishmen commanded by Sir Edward Woodville. The victorious Spanish allowed the Muslim population to leave for Granada.
The town's Moorish name, Medina Lawša, was changed to Lauxa. Isabella called it the "flower among thorns".
In 1491 work began on the Church of the Incarnation on the site of the town's main mosque.

19th century

The town was the centre of the Loja uprising in 1861, led by local, that was quickly suppressed.

Transport

In the 1870s a railway line was laid linking Bobadilla and Granada. The line has been adapted to enable high-speed AVE trains to reach Granada, but the route still prevents them from running at full speed. As at 2025 a new high-speed route through Loja is being built. This new track will improve journey times between Madrid and Granada as well as forming a component of the "Mediterranean Corridor" route between Antequera and Almería.

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
  • Convento of St. Francis of Assisi, including a 16th-century cloister
  • Church of the Incarnation, the main church which was begun in Mudéjar style at the end of the 15th century
  • Church of San Gabriel
  • Church of Santa Catalina
  • Church of N.tra S.ra Virgen de la Caridad
  • Hermitages of Jesus Nazareno, san Roque, and Calvario, 16th century chapels and sanctuaries
  • Caseron de los Alcaides Cristianos Palacio de Narvaez
  • Fuente de la Mora, also known as los venticinco canos, a fountain where waters from different springs are made to flow from twenty-five tubes.