Torrejón de Ardoz

02Etymology

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.

03History

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.

Torrejón de Ardoz (Spanish pronunciation: [toreˈxon de aɾˈðoθ]) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), an ag...

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.

04Industry

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.

05Commercial

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.

06Transports

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.

07Main sights

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

08Sports

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.

09Education

Torrejon High School

10Famous 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 Podcasters Steve Campbell, Both Down Podcast Crime Patrick Nogueira, murderer. Lived with his uncle, aunt and cousins before his family moved to Pioz.