Elda

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For many years esparto - atochal - traders gained access to Madrid through a gate which became known as the Puerta de Atocha.

With the crisis experienced in the esparto grass trade coupled with limited agricultural resources, economic alternatives had to be found and with the assistance of craftsmen from Almansa and Mahón the first shoe factory was established in the Alicante region. This industry has now become the chief identity of the city of Castelar.

The ancient site of Elda is found high up in the sierra del Monastil where significant remains of various cultures have been found. The present day city dates back to the Moorish era and is sited around the former castle of the Counts of Elda.

The city has developed in the direction of the Vinalopó river bed and nearby Petrer; this has resulted in the cities being separated only by a single street, the houses on one side belonging to Elda and those on the other to Petrer.

Elda is on the most important communications route of the province of Alicante: the route formed by the Vinalopó valley which joins the province of Castilla with the port of Alicante.

In Roman times the 'Via Augusta' passed through Elda and, much later, it was a stopping point on the road to Madrid to which the esparto grass was taken.

With the arrival of the railway the marketing of the city's products was guaranteed. Cobblers also traveled this route during the course of the 19th century and by the beginning of the 20th century had transformed Elda into a centre for the manufacturing of shoes, especially women's fashion footwear. A consequence of rapid demographical growth was the disappearance of traditional urban structures, though there are several interesting walks in the area of the Church of Santa Ana (a former mosque), the calle Nueva and the renovated commercial centre, the Plaza Mayor.

The castle is reached via Espoz, Mina and the Plazuela del Castillo.