Talk:Alcalá de Henares

Subjectivity in Encyclopedia?

It is possible to understand that there may be visitors that have not liked Alcala de Henares, but it does not justify a huge amount of text on his oppinion about traffic, which, by the way could be applied to such a big amount of places!!!. Alcalá in the las 10-15 years has made an impresive work of restoration and it is a pleasure to walk in the center od the city.

I agree with the above contributor. In fact, I'm afraid this whole article is a bit of a mess. Why do the opening sections contain information on storks and the following bit of editorializing? “The old city centre has been largely preserved, unlike the suburbs. There has been no clear planning by the city councillors regarding expansion, and the sprawling suburban areas are irregularly constructed, with the addition of seventies-style high rise blocks in many places.” The contributor may not appreciate seventies-style residential buildings, or local government’s planning policies regarding them, but this is hardly the appropriate place for such opinions. The article should open with more objective information on what is, historically, one of the most important settlements in Spain. Does anyone agree that all of section 1 (‘The City Today’ and 1.1 ‘The Storks’) should be moved well down the article and revised substantially? Also, in the ‘University’ section, is there any evidence demonstrating that the university is ‘the major landmark and greatest pride of the city?’ Why not the Corral de Comedias, the oldest theatre in Europe? Or El Hospitalillo, the oldest hospital in Europe? Or Calle Mayor, the longest colonnaded street in Europe? Or the birthplace of Cervantes? Or Plaza de Cervantes? And what about the fact that one of the most important politicians in Spanish history, Manuel Azaña, the first prime minister and last president of the Second Republic, was born in the city? And why is the cathedral the city’s ‘second most important and historic building’? There are a number of other important historical buildings in the city. What criteria is being used to rank these? I suggest a major rewrite is needed.

Complutum?

What does the latín word Complutum mean? What history has that toponym have? --Francisco Valverde 17:22, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

• I have found in the Pdf file at [1] that compluo is the latin adjective/participle for "rainy", being that the verb compluere means "wash with rain water". This, however, is not how the climate functions in Alcala de Henares.

Then there is also a very similar celtic toponym: komploútika. This toponym is still present in the town of Compludo, in León. There was also a Complega. Apart from this there is also an inscription in an iberia coin with CONPOUTO, which seems to be the roman Complutum. So, could this be and what would be the meaning of the original toponym ...? --Francisco Valverde 17:43, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

I live in Alcala de Henares. Alcalá de Henares called many years ago "Complutum" because this name is in Latín. I am Rauldemilengua in the spanish wikipedia. And Rauld'amiafabla in the aragonese wikipedia. Good bye¡ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.148.54.94 (talk) 16:01, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Complutum itself does not mean anything, and the exact origin of the name is unknown. In Alcalá de Henares is commonly believed that it comes from the latin "confluvium", place where the rivers converge, but it seems more probable that it could be the latinization of the old pre-romanic name of the city "Ikesankom Kombouto". --84.197.104.134 (talk) 00:23, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

The Cathedral

I added a major section to the article with information about the Cathedral located in the city. The section consists entirely of information from the Spanish-language Wikipedia article "Catedral de los Santos Niños Justo y Pastor de Alcalá de Henares." I indicated this in a footnote to the title of the section, but I'm not sure if this is the customary or correct place to include the source of the information. The Spanish-language article did not provide citations, so I can only vouch for the accuracy of the translation, not the information. Any additional research or cites would be appreciated. I also moved a paragraph about the university from the "History" to the "University" section of the article and edited it for clarity. Any feedback is welcomed. Zandar555 (talk) 03:23, 4 December 2008 (UTC) Brian

The Storks

I studied at the University as well and this article would be enhanced by a section about the storks. The Spanish article has a section on the and I would like to add one including at least one of my personal pictures of the stork nests. However, I'm new and I'm not quite brave enough to edit and add a new sectionJK5862 (talk) 09:05, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I added a section about the storks with information on them from the City of Alcalá's official site. I also added a paragraph about the Cervantes Prize.Zandar555 (talk) 05:10, 4 December 2008 (UTC)Brian

Mention the storks by all means, but they are currently given undue prominence in the article. I live in the city, and they are not more important than its Roman, medieval and Renaissance history. They are mentioned even before the fact that the greatest figure in Spanish literature, and one of the most important in world literature, was born in the town.

Image copyright problem with File:LogoUAH.png

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Picture in infobox

I suggest that the picture in the infobox should be changed. It is true that in Wikimedia commons there are no pics with a skyline of the city, but the picture shown is just the street for accessing the railway station... it was made from a few meters over the ground, but that doesn't convert it in a skyline... and it is less representative than other pics.

If you see the city from far away, the skyline shows you a center with a lot (really, a lot) of towers, belfries and campanilles surounded by massive residential buildings (from the infamous 70's). That image is not available, but the one that fits the most (for me) could be File:Alcala_de_henares_plaza_cervantes.JPG, which at least shows a few of the towers that makes recognizable the skyline of the city.

Really, what is now publised is the same as in the infobox of London you just put a picture of Euston Road taken from St. Pancrass station... it is London, of course, but it is not the picture to be first shown in a encyclopedia. --84.197.104.134 (talk) 00:52, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

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