Trujillo, Cáceres

Trujillo, Spain
	Trujillo, Spain
	; Seal
	; Seal
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Extremadura
Province	Cáceres
Municipality	Trujillo
	Government
- Alcalde(sa)	Cristina Blázquez (PSOE)
	Area
- Total	156 km2 (60.2 sq mi)
Elevation	564 m (1,850 ft)
	Population (2009)
- Total	9,766
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.trujillo.es/

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Trujillo is a town located in Extremadura, Spain.

[edit] Location

Just a few miles from Monfragüe's National Park, Trujillo sits in a privileged location. It is merely 47 km from Cáceres, one hour by car from Guadalupe, 90 km from Mérida, Plasencia and Navalmoral de la Mata. Easy connection with Madrid is made possible by a motorway, the A-5, stretching for 250 km.

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[edit] Population

Evolution of population between 1998 and 2007 with data from Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spanish National Statistics Institute).

Population
1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
9,070	9,070	8,713	9,262	9,456	9,564	9,406	9,672	9,770	9,766	9,860

[edit] The town

Trujillo is a town in Spain, in the Extremadura region. The origin of the town is pre-historic. It was named Troxiello, Turgalium and by other different names. The town now calls itself the "Cradle of the Conquistadores", having been the birthplace of many men who sought their fortune in the New World. Celts, Romans, Moors, and Christians have inhabited Trujillo over the centuries.

Trujillo has a castle which overlooks the town and the surrounding plains. A fortification had existed for a long time before it was occupied by the Moors. It came into Christian hands in 1233. Juan II officially made it a city in 1431. The castle is on the top of a hill called Cabezo de Zorro (Fox's Head). The Virgin of the Victory is the patron. The Trujillian people celebrate a festival in September.

Trujillo was the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru, who has a statue on the central square. It was also the birthplace of Francisco de Orellana, Gaspar de Rodas, and of Diego Garcia de Paredes.

[edit] Visiting Trujillo

Francisco Pizarro's statue with St Martin church in the background

The principal monuments are: The Castle, Santiago's Church, St Mary's Church, St Francisco's Church, St' Martin Church, the Main Square and some palaces (Conquest, Orellana-Pizarro, Piedras Albas...)

Museums in Trujillo:

La Coria Museum, about America
Pizarro's House, about Francisco Pizarro
Museo del Traje with the fashion designer Enríque Elías' designs.
Wine and Cheese Museum

The tourist office is located in the Main Square.

[edit] Living in Trujillo

Trujillo's Plaza Mayor (main square) is a bustling area with cafes, restaurants, and shops. A popular festival is the Chivirí, a party celebrated on the Plaza Mayor where people from the town dance traditional dances and eat and drink.

Trujillo also has a bullring. Is used specially during Cheese Fair in May and in the Festival in September.

[edit] Trivia

In the movie Gladiator, Maximus tells Marcus Aurelius of his home and farms near Trujillo, although he should have referred to it by its Roman name of Turgalium.

The College of Charleston currently sends students every Spring and Summer to Trujillo. The city offers the students a smaller and more authentic atmosphere to learn Spanish and mingle with Spanish people. Because Trujillo is situated atop a hill, watch guards could see an invading enemy's camp days ahead of arrival to the town.