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The Broom Shrubs That Named the Village

Santa Cruz del Retamar, Torrijos, Toledo

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Curiosities

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The Broom Shrubs That Named the Village

Curiosity · Santa Cruz del Retamar, Torrijos, Toledo

Image of Santa Cruz del Retamar, not of the place itself.

The name Santa Cruz del Retamar combines two origins: "Retamar" recalls that broom shrubs (retamas) once grew abundantly in the area, covering these flat, stony lands in the north of the province of Toledo, while "Santa Cruz" may come from a high spot to the northwest of the district known as Cruz Verde, possibly linked to a former Jewish settlement. According to Pascual Madoz's dictionary, the village was founded around 1480 by its territorial lord, the Duke of Maqueda, although other sources attribute its founding in the mid-15th century to the soldier Gutiérrez de Cárdenas. The town was granted the title of villa in 1486.

Photo: Malopez 21 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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